Herbs perennial. Flowering stems ascending or prostrate, 17–60 cm tall, appressed or ascending unicellular hairy, occasionally rooting from nodes in lower part. Radical leaves 8–20 cm including petiole; auricles of stipules free; petiole 0.8–3.5 cm, ascending or spreading unicellular hairy; leaf blade interrupted pinnate with 10–15 pairs of leaflets; leaflets abaxially glandular multicellular hairy and ascending unicellular hairy, adaxially appressed or ascending unicellular hairy, margin serrate; terminal leaflet oblong to obovate, 1.2–2.4 × 0.7–1.4 cm, larger than lateral leaflets; cauline leaves: auricles of stipules entire at margin, or those on lower part of stem with a few teeth and those on upper part with 10–20 teeth; leaf blade 3-foliolate or pinnate with 2–8 pairs of leaflets, sometimes interrupted pinnate. Flowers 1.1–1.5 cm in diam.; pedicel 1.2–3.8 cm, glandular multicellular hairy. Sepals elliptic to ovate, 2.5–4 × 1.8–4 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse to acute; epicalyx segments oblong to broadly obovate, 2.5–5.5 × 2–4.5 mm, abaxially glandular multicellular hairy, margin usually serrate, apex acute. Petals obovate to broadly so, 5–6.5 × 3.5–7 mm, apex retuse or rounded. Stamens ca. 20, in 3 whorls, 1.2–2.2 mm; anthers sub-basal, globose, 4-loculed. Ovary ellipsoid, smooth; placenta adaxial-lateral near style base; style sub-basal, 0.8–0.9 mm. Achenes many, borne on dome-shaped receptacle, obliquely ellipsoid, 1.2–1.4 mm, smooth. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sept. 2n = 42*.

Potentilla polyphylloides differs from P. polyphylla in having flowering stems occasionally rooting from the nodes in the lower part, and leaflets abaxially, pedicels, and epicalyx segments abaxially with glandular, multicellular hairs. Potentilla fallens differs from P. polyphylloides in having epicalyx segments shorter than the sepals, subentire at the margin or shallowly 2- or 3-serrate, and a style nearly 2 × as long as the ovary.

Mountain meadows; 3200--3500 m. NW Yunnan (Dali Xian, Yangbi Xian).