This native perennial member of the aster family has a sunflower-like flower composite head that is 1-1½ inches wide. They may begin blooming in May and continue through August. There are 8 sterile ray flowers ("petals"), each with 3-5 notches at the tip. The fertile central disk flowers are numerous. The basal and lower leaves are 3 to 6 inches long and lance-shaped or with two prongs at the base. The upper leaves are sparse, opposite and without stalks.

This species grows 1-2 feet high and can usually be found in poor soils, dry sandy places or roadsides. It flowers from April to July depending on location. It is found throughout the eastern United States except the northern plains and prairie states. It also occurs in much of the west. It is officially documented as native in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Clarion and Erie counties but may be more widespread. There are also a number of commercial cultivars of C. lanceolata planted as ornamentals. In the northeast a similar species, the garden coreopsis, may be a garden escapee. These tend to be brownish near the base of the rays. The related whorled or thread-leaved coreopsis tickseed (C. verticillata) is not documented as native in Pennsylvania, but is found in Maryland, but may grow here as a garden flower.

In places lance-leaved coreopsis can form sizable colonies. Another common name for this species is lance-leaf tickseed or sand coreopsis. There are 11-12 other species of yellow coreopsis in the Eastern United States, so exact identification can be difficult. This species was introduced to Japan as a garden flower, but has escaped cultivation and has become a serious invasive species, crowding out native species there.