It is distinguished by its creeping horizontal lateral roots, which produce dense patches of aerial shoots.
Plants are imperfectly dioecious.
The corolla of the globose male heads is projecting, 12-14 mm long with anthers to 4 mm long. Pistillate heads are oblong, with corollas 23-26 mm long, the conspicuous pappus about 14 mm long in fresh flowers. Within the genus Cirsium, C. arvense is the most often confused with C. vulgare. Despite its common name, Cirsium arvense is native to Eurasia and was apparently introduced to North America during the colonial period. By 1918, it was already on the noxious weed lists of 25 northern states.