Herbs perennial, (7-)12-30 cm tall. Rhizomes short, with many, slender petioles 0.5-10 cm that terminate into tubers; tubers fleshy, whitish, representing modified leaf blades, globose, ovoid, or subreniform, to 7 mm, sometimes slightly flattened and 3-7-toothed. Stems erect, simple, glabrous. Rhizomal leaves ternate, biternate, or palmately 5-foliolate; petiole 3-15 cm; terminal leaflet lanceolate, broadly ovate, or suborbicular in outline, to 2 × 1.3 cm, with a petiolule to 6 mm, base cuneate, margin crenate or dissected into 3 sublanceolate or ovate lobes, base cuneate or subcordate. Cauline leaves 1-3, sometimes 2 and subopposite, often restricted to distal 1/3 of stem, minutely scabrid at least along margin with trichomes to 0.1 mm, rarely also pilose with trichomes to 0.4 mm; petiole 0.4-2 cm; terminal leaflet linear or narrowly lanceolate, 0.5-5 cm × 1-6 mm, base cuneate or attenuate, margin entire or 3-toothed or-lobed, apex acute and mucronate; lateral leaflets 1 or 2 pairs, similar to terminal one or entire. Racemes 5-20-flowered. Fruiting pedicels ascending, 0.7-1.3 cm. Sepals oblong, 3.5-5 × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous. Petals purple or pink, rarely white, obovate or spatulate, 8-11(-14) × 3.5-5 mm, apex rounded. Median filament pairs 4-6 mm, slender; lateral pair 3.5-4.5 mm; anthers narrowly oblong 1.1-1.5 mm. Ovules 10-16 per ovary. Fruit linear, 2-3.5 cm × 1.2-1.6 mm; valves glabrous; style 1.5-4 mm. Seeds brown, oblong, 1-1.3 × 0.8-1 mm. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jun-Jul. 2n = 32, 48.