[4][5] It has rounded stalked leaves mostly growing from the base emerging from a rootstock and bluntly toothed reaching heights of 30 cm.

The green calyx is 6–8 mm long; the five flower petals are greenish-white to purple, pinnately divided and spreading.

[6] The plant is a native of moist forests in western North America, from Alaska and British Columbia to northern California.

Although it is secure in the western portions of its range, Tellima grandiflora is listed as vulnerable in Idaho and Montana, and as critically imperiled in Alberta.

This plant, crushed and made into an infusion, was used by the Skagit to aid people in sicknesses such as loss of appetite.