Herbs, perennial, 20-60 cm tall. Rootstock fleshy, horizontal, resembling that of species of Zingiber. Leaves 3-7, verticillate at apex of stem, palmately compound; petiole base without stipule or stipulelike appendages; leaflets 3-5, sessile or subsessile, elliptic to obovate-oblong, 6-18 × 3-6 cm, membranous, both surfaces setose on veins, base cuneate, margin serrate or slightly biserrate, setose, apex acuminate to long acuminate. Inflorescence a solitary, terminal umbel; peduncle 24-26 cm, pubescent. Filaments longer than petals. Ovary 2-carpellate; styles 2, united to middle. Fruit red, globose-nephroid; seeds 2, triangular-subglobose. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Oct.

This species is used medicinally.

Broad-leaved evergreen forests. SE Yunnan [N Vietnam].