Rhizome ca. 1 cm thick, upper part sparsely covered with withered remains of petioles. Stem erect, 0.4-1.2 m (to more than 2 m), moderately leafy, few branched. Stipules brown, semiovate, to 1 cm, margin mostly erose-laciniate, apex obtuse; leaf blade lanceolate, to 25 × 6-8 cm, 3-subpinnatisect, bearing long simple hairs and small stipitate glands; segments ± linear, to 1 cm, apex subacute. Inflorescences long, many flowered; bracts leaflike, lanceolate, 1-1.5 cm, covered with simple hairs, rarely glabrous, margin entire, apex acuminate; bracteoles lanceolate, 2-4 mm, margin slightly hairy or glabrous, apex acuminate. Flowers often in fascicles of 2 or 3; pedicel 1-4 cm, 1-5 × as long as sepals, sparsely hairy or glandular. Sepals broadly ovate, ca. 7 × 5 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse to acute; outer sepals stipitate glandular and hairy toward base, inner ones subglabrous. Petals yellow, obovate, somewhat shorter than se-pals, apex denticulate-undulate. Filaments hairy at base, in an annulus with 5 ovate lobes. Mericarps ca. 2.5 mm, slightly ru-gose. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 10*.

The species was reported from E Xinjiang by C. Y. Yang (Claves Pl. Xinjiang. 3: 212. 1985), who noted that no specimens had been seen. The authors have not been able to confirm this record.

● Hill slopes, loess slopes, meadows, gravelly areas along rivers; 1000-3500 m. Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, N and W Sichuan, ?E Xinjiang, E Xizang.