Seedbox is found in moist sand pairies and marshes, as well as in ditches. It has simple lanceolate foliage that turns a bright red in the fall. It has small yellow flowers that produce reddish-brown, square seedheads. It associates with Aronia prunifolia, Carex scoparia, and Helanthus mollis. It gets its name from its seedhead, which when shaken, rattle.