This native perennial wildflower is 3-10" tall, consisting of one or more stems with alternate leaves and compound umbels of flowers. The light green to reddish brown stems are stout, longitudinal ridged, and glabrous; sometimes they are erect, but more often sprawl across the ground. The leaves are up to 5" long and 3" across; they are ternately compound (typically divided into 3 leaflets). Each leaflet is irregularly cleft into about 3 narrow lobes; these lobes are oblong, elliptic-oblong, or narrowly oblanceolate and their margins lack teeth. The blades of the leaves (i.e., their leaflets) are light to medium green and glabrous, while their long petioles are sheathed at the base. The stems terminate in compound umbels of white flowers. Each compound umbel consists of 1-4 umbellets, while each umbellet has 1-6 flowers. The flowers of each umbellet are closely bunched together because their pedicels are quite short. At the base of each umbellet, there is a small leafy bract. Each flower is about ¼" across, consisting of 5 narrow white petals, 5 stamens, a divided white style, and no sepals. The anthers of the stamens are initially dark red, but they soon turn black. The blooming period occurs from early to mid-spring and lasts about 1 month. Each flower is replaced by a slightly flattened globoid fruit (a schizocarp) that contains a single seed. The root system consists of a corm with fibrous roots. This wildflower reproduces by reseeding itself. Occasionally, it forms loose colonies of plants.