Common groundsel is an introduced annual herbaceous weed common in disturbed ground such as gardens and roadsides at low to middle elevations. The stems are leafy and erect,15-50 cm tall, with a branched inflorescence. The leaves are deeply pinnately lobed and irregularly toothed. The heads are yellow with only disk flowers present. The involucre has both full length green bracts and numerous shorter, black-tipped, bracteoles. Common groundsel typically flowers all winter in mild microsites near Puget Sound.