Cephalophilon nepalense (Meisner) Tzvelev; Persicaria alata (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don) Nakai; P. nepalensis (Meisner) H. Gross; Polygonum alatum (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don) Sprengel; P. alatum var. nepalense (Meisner) J. D. Hooker; ?P. nepalense var. adenothrix Nakai; P. punctatum Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don (1825), not Elliott (1817), nor Rafinesque (1820); P. punctatum Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don var. alatum Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don; P. quadrifidum Hayata (1911), not Meisner (1840).

Herbs annual. Stems decumbent or ascending, 20-40 cm tall, much branched at base, rooting at lower nodes. Lower leaves petiolate; petiole 2-3 cm, winged; leaf blade ovate or triangular-ovate, 3-5 × 2-4 cm, both surfaces sparsely setose or glabrous, sparsely yellow pellucid glandular punctate, base broadly cuneate, decurrent along petiole forming wing, margin entire, upper leaves smaller, subsessile or clasping; ocrea brownish, tubular, 5-10 mm, membranous, apex obliquely truncate, not ciliate, with recurved seta at base. Inflorescence capitate, included by an involucral leaf; peduncle long, glandular hairy; bracts ovate-elliptic, usually glabrous, margin membranous. Pedicels shorter than bracts. Perianth purplish red or white, usually 4-parted; tepals oblong, 2-3 mm, apex obtuse. Stamens 5 or 6, equaling perianth; anthers black-purple. Styles 2, connate at base; stigmas capitate. Achenes included in persistent perianth, black, opaque, broadly ovoid, biconvex, 2-2.5 mm, densely pitted. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jun-Oct.

Mountain slopes, moist valleys; 200-4000 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia (Far East), Sikkim, Thailand; tropical Africa].