Herbs, perennial, 0.4–1.8 m, not glaucous, with thick taproot and freely-rooting rhizomes usually 3–10 mm diam. Stems usually several, clustered, erect, often purplish, often thick and hollow proximally, usually proximally ± scabrous, hairs stellate and distally stellate-hairy, sometimes glabrous. Leaves mostly cauline; stipules persistent or deciduous, lanceolate, 6–8 × 1–1.5 mm; proximal petioles 25–30 cm, 4–5 times as long as blade, reduced to 7–13 cm on midstem leaves and to 2–3 cm on distalmost leaves, these to 1/2 times as long as blades; basal blades wide-ovate to orbiculate, shallowly to deeply, palmately 5–7(–9)-lobed, 6–13 × 6–13 cm, lobe margins toothed, teeth rounded, sometimes Ribes-like, base cordate, apex rounded, surfaces: abaxial densely stellate-pubescent, adaxial glabrous or sparsely stellate-pubescent on veins, cauline blades round, divided nearly to base, 5–9-lobed, lobes again deeply incised to subentire, 10–20 × 10–20 cm, distalmost 5–7-cleft to base. Inflorescences erect, spiciform, dense, calyces usually conspicuously overlapping in flower and sometimes in fruit, usually 20–30-branched per primary stem, 20+-flowered, elongate, not 1-sided, most flowers usually open at same time, branches relatively
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