Winter annual from a fibrous root system. Stems hairy, reclining, branched from base. Leaves alternate, elliptic to lance-shaped, margins irregularly notched or lobed. Single five-petaled yellow to reddish tubular flowers borne in leaf axils. Fruit a cylindrical, four-ribbed seed pod. Both flowers and seed pods present at same time. Reproduces by seed. Found in the continental United States except for the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. Also found in Quebec, Ontario, Central and South America and Europe.