Botrychium matricariifolium is highly variable in shape and form. The blades are less than 10 cm wide, clearly longer than wide, and vary from once to three times pinnate. The fertile branch (sporophore) also varies from once to three times pinnate.

Botrychium matricariifolium is found primarily in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, extending south in the Appalachian Mountains to Tennessee. In Wisconsin it is the most common of the small "moonwort" species, but is found only in the northern half of the state, where it grows most often in northern mesic forest and associated openings, often with other Botrychium species.