Horse cinquefoil is a perennial herb with a heavy, branching crown. Morphological characteristics such as plant height, flower size, the amount of pubescence on leaf surfaces, and the shape and size of calyx branches vary greatly within this species. Little documentation exists on the reproductive strategies of horse cinquefoil. Many species also reproduce vegetatively through rhizomes or adventitious rooting. Horse cinquefoil may reproduce vegetatively but this process has apparently not been documented in the literature.
Horse cinquefoil grows on a fairly wide range of soil composition and texture.