A vigorous climber with finely divided pale green foliage, tangled stems and creamy coloured flowers in winter. Male and female flowers are produced on seperate plants (this is called 'dioeceious' in botanical lingo, meaning 'two houses'). The male blossom is more abundant and the plant is perhaps more attractive in flower, however the female flowers, produced more sparingly and with green central stigmas, are followed by seedheads with fluffy, silvery 'beards'.

A species of the Asteraceae family, Common Sneezeweed has small globular green-cream flowerheads, and small teethed leaves. When crushed, the leaves exude a pungent sickly sweet smell.