Herbs perennial. Roots large. Stems erect, 50-100 cm tall, branched above, glabrous, grooved. Basal leaves: petiole 4-10 cm; leaf blade broadly ovate, 10-15 × 4-8 cm, both surfaces glabrous or abaxially minutely papillate along veins, base cordate, margin entire, apex acute; cauline leaves shortly petiolate, ovate-lanceolate; ocrea fugacious, membranous. Inflorescence paniculate. Flowers bisexual. Pedicel articulate below middle. Outer tepals elliptic, ca. 1.5 mm; inner tepals enlarged in fruit; valves broadly ovate, 5-6 mm, valves all or 1 or 2 with tubercles, base truncate, each margin with 7 or 8 teeth, apex acute; teeth 1.5-3 mm, apex hooked or straight. Achenes brown, shiny, ovoid, sharply trigonous, ca. 3 mm, base truncate, apex acute. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Jul.

Grassy slopes, moist valleys, along ditches; 1000-4300 m. S Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, SW Qinghai, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Japan (introduced), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim, Tajikistan, Vietnam; SW Asia].