Annual or perennial herb, 30-60 cm tall, sparsely pilose. Lower leaves pinnatisect, 4-14 cm long, 2-3.5 cm broad; segments somewhat ovate, acute or minutely acuminate, dentate-lyrate. Upper leaves amplexicaul, subcordate to cordate, 1.5-5 cm long, 1-4 cm broad, many-lobed, lobes acute to acuminate. Inflorescences solitary axillary; pedicel 5-15 mm long, increasing up to 20 mm in fruit; bracts foliaceous, 5-10 mm long, 5-6 mm broad, amplexicaul; buds oblong or ovate-oblong, acute, 15-20 mm long, glabrous to sparsely pilose. Sepals 15-20 mm long, 4-5 mm broad with parallel venation, sparsely pilose outside, more so at the apex, acute, obtrullate-oblong. Petals obovate, c. 20 mm long, 10 mm broad with wavy margin. Stamens multiseriate, 10-14 mm long; anther 2-3 mm long, oblong dithecous, basifixed; filaments with narrow ends and somewhat dilated in the middle; stigma dome shaped more or less sessile. Ovary linear, c. 10 mm long, tuberculate. Fruit linear-oblong, 12-17.5 cm long, 2-2.5 mm broad, almost straight or slightly torulose, covered sparsely with appressed spine-like setae, 2 horned at the tip, subglabrous; seeds reniform.

Fl.Per. May-August.

Type: Turkistan, Mt. Karatau; Lehman (G), Syntype: Afghanistan, Kohtal, alt. 9500 ft. Griffith (K).

Distribution: Iran, Turkistan, Afghanistan and W. Pakistan.