There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms. American dragonhead is classified as rare in New York. Robin F. Matthews, August 1993. Matthews, Robin F. 1993. American dragonhead is a native annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial forb.
Leaves are coarsely serrate and flowers are crowded in a dense terminal or axillary cluster.
American dragonhead is a seedbanking species. Seeds are large and are not wind-dispersed. American dragonhead flowers during the first few postfire years. Frequencies in postfire years 1 and 2 were 96 and 100 percent, respectively. American dragonhead comprised 30 percent of all plant cover in the first postfire year and 37 percent of all cover in the second postfire year.