Annual, perennial, herbs, shrubs, rarely trees. Leaves usually basal, alternate or opposite, usually petiolate, sometimes sessile; lamina ovate or trullate, often dissected, 1–3 pinnatifid, ultimate segments lanceolate, linear or filiform. Capitula mostly heterogamous, radiate, sometimes discoid, usually terminal, rarely axillary, solitary or in open paniculiform, rarely congested corymbiform cymes. Phyllaries mostly dimorphic and gradate, rarely isomorphic, in 1-6 series, outermost herbaceous, inner membranaceous. Receptacles flat or conical, usually paleate. Ray florets female or sterile, usually ligulate, 2 or 3-lobed, rarely 4-lobed, of various colours, white, yellow to orange, sometimes pink to red or deep purplish, bicolored or striped, rarely corolla absent. Disc florets usually bisexual and fertile, rarely functionally staminate; corollas usually yellow to orange, purplish, or brown, sometimes ± zygomorphic, lobes (3–) 5. Anther filaments glabrous or papillose – pubescent, appendages lanceolate to round, sometimes absent. Style arms apices broadly deltate or acuminate to subulate, appendages short or well developed, penicillate or papillose, papillae apically rounded or tapered. Cypselas usually isomorphic, sometimes dimorphic within heads, sometimes with corky edges or winged. Pappus of 1-8, smooth awns with retrose or introse barbs, sometimes awns absent, rarely of 4-6 rounded, lanceolate or obovate scales.

A medium sized tribe consisting of 30 genera and ca. 550 species, worldwide in distribution, mostly in Americas particularly in North America. In Pakistan it is represented by 5 genera and 12 species.

This tribe is important for its horticultural potential species including Coreopsis, Cosmos, Dahlia and their hybrids, while few are cosmopolitan weeds including Bidens.