In younger portions, erect stems are round and hairy. Lower portions of the stem may become dark maroon in color. Leaves are alternate, roughly triangular in outline with prominently toothed margins. The leaf surface is glossy green and prominently veined.
Petioles are about half as long as the leaf blade.
Flower clusters are purple when young, fading to dark brown with age. Individual flowers are white to cream colored but are not persistent. Mulberry weed was introduced this century from eastern Asia. The earliest known herbarium specimens in the U.S. are dated 1964, yet it apparently was established in Louisiana before that time. Now mulberry weed is established in several locations in the southeastern U.S. from Ohio to Florida and west to Texas and Oklahoma.