The ovate or obovate basal leaves are 0.4–10 cm (0.16–3.94 in) long by 1–15 mm (0.039–0.591 in) wide, entire or pinnately lobed.

Leaves on the flower stem are similar but smaller and borne alternately on short petioles.

[2][4] The evolutionary history of the Smelowskia genus was examined in a study published in 2010 in the journal Taxon.

[5] Based on microsatellite and DNA sequences, the Smelowskia genus first appeared in Central Asia.

From there it dispersed in two separate events to North America by means of the Beringian land bridge.