It has a reddish stem that is armed with downward pointing hooks or barbs which are also present on the underside of the leaf blades. Distinctive circular, cup-shaped leafy structures, called ocreas, surround the stem at intervals. Flower buds, and later flowers and fruits, emerge from within the ocreas.
Flowers are small, white and generally inconspicuous.
The fruits are attractive, metallic blue and segmented, each segment containing a single glossy, black or reddish-black seed. If left unchecked, the lack of photosynthesis will kill a plant. Small populations of extremely rare plants may be eliminated entirely. It has the potential to be a problem to nursery and horticulture crops that are not regularly tilled as a cultivation practice. D.C. These states and the District of Columbia comprise about 20 percent of the estimated possible range for this species.