Each flower is 1 to 4 cm (1⁄2 to 1+1⁄2 in) wide and lacks petals, having instead petallike sepals which are usually white but sometimes yellow.

[1] Caltha leptosepala used to be assigned to the Populago (now Caltha) section with all other Northern Hemisphere species, but genetic analysis suggests that it is the sister of all Southern Hemisphere species and should be moved into the Psychrophila section.

[a] An additional type found in the Pacific Coast Ranges is treated as Caltha biflora.

[4] C. leptosepala is native to western North America from Alaska to New Mexico, where it grows in wet mountain habitats in alpine and subalpine regions.

Its native habitats include wet alpine, subalpine meadows, stream edges and bogs.