Plants perennial, glabrous (occa-sionally indistinctly papillose on veins of leaf blades abaxially), with incrassate creeping rhizome. Stems erect, branched from proximal 1/ 2 of stem, 20-45 cm. Leaves: ocrea deciduous or partially persistent at maturity; blade oblong or elliptic, some-times almost orbiculate, 3-7(-14) × 1.5-5(-7) cm, ca. 2(-2.5) times as long as wide, base broadly cuneate or rounded, margins entire or weakly crisped, apex obtuse or subacute. Inflorescences terminal, occupying more than proximal 1/ 2 of stem, narrowly paniculate. Pedicels articulated in proximal 1/ 2, filiform, 3-7 mm, articulation indistinct, scarcely visible. Flowers 10-20 in whorls; inner tepals ovate or oblong, 4.5 × 2.5 mm, widest at or near middle, base emarginate or cordate, margins entire or weakly serrate, apex commonly obtuse; tubercles absent. Achenes greenish brown, 2.8-4 × 1.5-2 mm.

Flowering late spring. Along streams and river valleys; 2400-3000 m; Colo., Wyo.