Plants exhibit allelopathic effects and are aggressively competitive, facilitating rapid colonization and development of dense stands . Infestations can be extremely long-lived due to extensive root and rhizome systems. Stems dieback after flowering in summer, and new shoots are generated in spring. Introduced from Central Asia. Under most circumstances livestock will avoid grazing Russian knapweed because of its bitter taste.
Cotyledons ovate to spatulate and scurfy on the lower surface.
First several rosette leaves elliptic to oblanceolate and covered with a white, powdery bloom. Subsequent rosette leaves irregularly 1-pinnately lobed with pronounced wavy margins. Stems erect, openly branched, leafy , and mostly covered with cobwebby gray hairs. Upper stem leaves narrowly lanceolate to linear , entire or toothed, and 1-3 cm long. Leaves lack hairs or are covered with short to medium interwoven hairs.