Individuals are 10–60 cm (3.9–23.6 in) tall, from caudices, with three to six leaves at the base of the plant that are 3-foliolate, each leaflet pinnatifid to dissected in shape.

Plants flower briefly mid-spring to mid-summer, usually soon after the ground is exposed by melting snow.

The achenes are ellipsoid in shape, not winged, covered with villous hairs, with beaks curved that reflex as they age and 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, feather-like.

Native to far western North America including British Columbia to California and Montana, it is found growing in gravelly soils on slopes and in moist meadows.

[6] The fresh stems and seeds of the plant are used traditionally in North America as analgesics, anxiolytics, and sedatives.