Plants 0.5–1 m tall. Rootstock thick, apparently swollen at nodes, internodes short. Stem single, erect, striate and branching. Basal petioles 10–20 cm; blade triangular-ovate, 15–20 × 10–15 cm, ternate to 1- or 2-pinnate, primary pinnae 4–6 pairs, proximal pinnae remote; ultimate segments ovate or oblong-ovate, 2–3 × 1–2 cm, margins irregularly serrate. Cauline leaves similar to basal, reduced, sessile, 1-pinnate. Umbels terminal and lateral, 6–8 cm across in fruit; bracts 5–6(–10), linear; rays 15–30, subequal, 3–5 cm; bracteoles 5–8, linear, shorter than pedicels, reflexed. Calyx teeth obsolete. Petals white, obovate, base cuneate. Styles ca. equaling fruit, reflexed. Fruit oblong-ovoid, 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm; dorsal and intermediate ribs prominent, filiform, lateral ribs narrowly winged; vittae 1–3(–4) in each furrow, 4–6 on commissure. Seed face plane. Fl. Jul–Aug, fr. Sep–Oct. 2n = 22*.

Two varieties and three cultivars can be recognized in China.

Forests, montane scrub, grassy slopes, streamsides, moist roadsides, also cultivated; 500–2700 m. Gansu, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.