Herbs cespitose, 8.5-15.5 cm tall. Bulbils present or not near stem base. Stems pilose. Basal leaves with petiole 1.5-8 cm, pilose; leaf blade reniform, 0.6-1.6 × 0.9-2.5 cm, abaxially subglabrous, adaxially pilose, base cordate, reniform, subtruncate, or cuneate, margin shallowly ca. 15-dentate, teeth retuse at apex. Cauline leaves alternate, similar to basal ones; petiole ca. 2 cm, pilose; leaf blade ca. 1.1 × 1.3 cm, abaxially subglabrous, adaxially pilose, margin shallowly ca. 11-dentate. Cyme 1.5-4 cm, densely flowered; branches pilose; bracteal leaves with petiole 0.5-6 mm, pilose, leaf blade ovate to subflabellate, 5-12 × 5-14 mm, glabrous, base broadly cuneate, margin 3-9-dentate. Flowers subsessile, green, ca. 3 mm in diam. Sepals erect, broadly ovate, 0.6-1.4 × 1-1.4 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse or acute. Stamens usually (2 or)4(or 8), 0.3-0.4 mm. Ovary subinferior; styles 0.2-0.3 mm. Disc usually 4-lobed. Capsule 4-5 mm, apex subtruncate, retuse; carpels horizontal, subequal; rostrums ca. 0.2 mm. Seeds dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6-0.7 mm, puberulous. Fl. and fr. Mar-Jun.

After publication of the treatment for the Flora of China, Chrysosplenium japonicum was newly recorded from Taiwan by Hsu, T. C. et al. 2011 (Taiwania 56: 337-340).

Forests, ravine forests, wet places in ravines; 400-600 m. Anhui, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea].