Taproot surface pale tawny brown, inner parts white, starchy. Leaves mainly in basal rosette; petiole sheaths broad, purplish and scarious margin; leaf blade broadly triangular-ovate, ternate-2–3-pinnate; pinnae 3–4 pairs, pinnules 1–2 pairs; ultimate segments ovate to long-ovate, 2–3 × 0.6–2 cm, abaxially glaucous, base cuneate or rounded, margins irregularly 2–3-lobed or dentate, apex acuminate. Umbels 3–10 cm across; rays 4–8, 0.5–6(–8) cm, very unequal. Fruit 5–7 × 2–4 mm. Fl. and fr. Apr–Jun.

The root is used in Hubei and Sichuan as a regional substitute for the traditional Chinese medicine “ming dang shen” (see Changium).

Grassy places along stream banks, also cultivated on mountain slopes; 100–800 m. Hubei, Sichuan.