Stems branched, arched or decumbent, to 1 m long, strongly ribbed, armed with stout hooked prickles; lvs 6–15 cm, the rachis and rachillae prickly; pinnae 3–5(–7) pairs, 1–5 cm; lfls 8–11(–14) pairs, oblong or elliptic, often shortly cuspidate, 1.5–9 mm, the veins few, obscure to very prominent and reticulate beneath; heads long-peduncled, 1.5–2.5 cm thick; fr linear, strongly ribbed, 4–8(–12) cm, prickly on the ribs, the slender beak 0.5–2 cm; 2n=36. Dry, sterile or sandy soil; widespread in tropical and warm-temperate parts of the New World, in the U.S. n. to w. Va., Ky., w. Io., and S.D. May–Sept. Some 11 ± geographic vars., 2 in our range. Var. nuttallii (DC.) Beard ex Barneby, w. of the Mississippi R., has the lateral veins of the lfls prominently raised beneath; its heads are 1.5–2.5 cm thick (7–11 mm without the filaments); and the stems and pods are not hairy. (Schrankia nuttallii; S. uncinata, misapplied; Leptoglottis n.) Var. angustata (Torr. & A. Gray) Barneby, mainly e. of the Mississippi R. and Gulf coastal, has the lateral veins of the lfls obscure; its heads are 1–1.5 cm thick (5–7.5 mm without the filaments); and the stems and pods are often finely puberulent. (Schrankia microphylla; Leptoglottis m.; Moronga m.)
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