Podophyllum pleianthum Hance, J. Bot. 21: 175. 1883; Dysosma chengii (S. S. Chien) Hiroe; D. hispida (K. S. Hao) Hiroe; P. chengii S. S. Chien; P. hispidum K. S. Hao; P. onzoi Hayata; P. pleianthum var. album Masamune.

Plants 20-60(-80) cm tall. Rhizomes creeping, stout, nodose, with numerous fibrous roots; aerial stems erect, solitary, glabrous. Leaves opposite; petiole 10-28 cm, angulate, glabrous; leaf blade abaxially pale yellowish green, adaxially dark green, usually shiny, suborbicular in gross outline, 16-33 cm in diam., papery, both surfaces glabrous, 5-9-lobed; lobes broadly triangular-ovate, margin spinose-serrulate, apex acute. Inflorescence 5-8-fascicled flowers. Pedicel 2-4 cm, often nodding, glabrous. Flowers attached at base of petiole, purplish red. Sepals caducous, elliptic-oblong or ovate-oblong, 1-2 × ca. 0.8 cm. Petals 6-9, purplish red, obovate-oblong, 3-4 × 1-1.3 cm. Stamens falcate-inflexed, ca. 2.3 cm; filaments flat, 7-8 mm; anthers ca. 1.5 cm; anther connective prolonged. Ovary oblong, ca. 1.3 cm; ovules numerous; style ca. 3 mm. Berry purplish black, obovoid-oblong or ellipsoid, ca. 3 × 2 cm. Fl. Mar-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 12*.

Shaw (in Stearn, Gen. Epimedium, 279. 2002) treated Podophyllum hispidum as a synonym of P. versipelle subsp. versipelle, and, based on flower color, recognized two varieties of P. pleianthum: var. pleianthum ("petals dark maroon red") and var. album ("petals white").

● Forests, streamsides, grassy slopes in valleys; 400-1600 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Zhejiang.