Flowering stems 15-35 cm. Basal leaves long-petiolate, 5-partipalmate, lobes 2-3 lobulate, serrate. Flowers solitary, 3.5-4.5 cm across, lilac. Sepals usually 15-20, petalonectaries usually 10, yellowish-green at the base. In nature one plant can have 1 to 5 flowering stems, in cultivation up to 20. V - early spring (starts just after snow melting) to early autumn, usually September. Fl - June (in St. Petersburg May). Fr - August. P - by division and by seed. Seeds require stratification. Can grow in semishade, but is very sensitive to soil moisture, and grows on only moist, but well-drained soil. Z 4. New.

Siberia (Altay), Central Asia (Pamiro Alay, Tien Shan, Dzungaro-Tarbagatay) and northwestern. China. In alpine zone, along streams, in lichen or moss tundra to 2,200-3,500 m.