Creeping Mallow has some distinguishing characteristics including orange-red petals, which is where its other commonly-used name – Red-flowered Mallow – comes from.

It flowers in late spring to early summer, usually producing solitary flowers with five petals borne on peduncles (stalks) in the leaf axils.

This mat-forming annual, biennial or perennial has creeping hairy stems that lay flat on the ground. They root at the nodes and it is not uncommon for these to be more than 1 metre long. The leaves are round or triangular in shape with three to seven toothed lobes.