Plants 10-35 cm. Stems 1 (lax), frequently 1-3 times branched. Basal leaves: petioles narrowly, if at all, winged, lengths 1-2 times blades; blades orbiculate to subreniform, 1-5+ × 1-4 cm, bases subcordate or abruptly contracted. Cauline leaves clasping; auriculate.

Flowering early Jul-late Aug. Steep, rocky slopes, thin soils in alpine meadows; 2700-3300 m; Idaho, Mont., Nev., Wyo.

Variety paysonii is known only from northwestern Wyoming, adjacent Montana and Idaho, and Elko County, Nevada. Its petioles are slender and their lengths are 1-2 times their blades.