Stems erect, 1–3 dm. Basal leaves pinnate, (4–)5–10(–14) cm; petiole 3–7(–10) cm, long hairs abundant, subappresssed to appressed, 0.5–2 mm, ± weak, short hairs absent, crisped or cottony hairs absent or sparse, glands absent or sparse; leaflets 2–3 per side, on distal 1/3–1/2 of leaf axis, separate, terminal ones elliptic to obovate, (1.8–)2–2.5(–3) × 0.8–1.3 cm, margins revolute, incised nearly to midvein, undivided medial blade 1–2 mm wide, teeth (4–)5–7 per side, linear, surfaces ± dissimilar, abaxial grayish to white, long hairs ± abundant especially on veins, 1–1.5 mm, weak, short hairs absent, crisped hairs abundant to dense, glands absent or obscured, adaxial greenish gray, long hairs common, appressed, 0.5–1 mm, short hairs absent, crisped hairs absent or sparse, glands absent or obscured. Cauline leaves 1–2. Inflorescences 2–5-flowered, very open. Pedicels 2–4 cm. Flowers: epicalyx bractlets narrowly elliptic to linear, 3–4 × 0.5–0.8(–1) mm, lengths 2/3–3/4 times sepals, margins flat; hypanthium 2.5–3 mm diam.; sepals 3.5–5 mm, apex subacute, abaxial surfaces: venation indistinct, glands sparse to common, often obscured; petals yellow, 7.5–10(–10.5) × 7.5–9(–10) mm, much exceeding sepals; filaments 1–2 mm, anthers 0.5–0.7 mm; carpels 50–60, styles papillate-swollen at very base, if at all, 0.8–0.9 mm. Achenes 1.4–1.6 mm, smooth to faintly rugose. 2n = 28 (14, 42, 56) (Russian Far East).

Flowering summer. Dry ridges, rocky outcrops, south-facing slopes, mainly on basic substrates; 500 m; Alaska; e Asia (Russian Far East).

Potentilla anachoretica is isolated in sect. Pensylvanicae. B. A. Jurtzev (1993, pers. comm.) claimed indirect support for the presence of P. anachoretica in Alaska and Yukon by the presence of three hybrid species presumably involving P. anachoretica in their parentage: P. borealis Soják, P. murrayi Jurtzev, and P. petrovskyi Soják (sect. Rubricaules; discussed by B. Ertter et al. 2013). Potentilla anachoretica is confirmed from at least two sites in Brooks Range, northern Alaska.