General: Perennial herb from a taproot; stem solitary, erect, 25-120 cm tall.
Leaves: Alternate; basal and lower stem leaves palmately 3-5 lobed or divided without a narrow leaf axis, stalked below, becoming sessile above, primary divisions merely lobed or with teeth, blades 3-13 cm long, 2-18 cm wide.
Flowers: Inflorescence of terminal umbels less than 1 cm wide in flower; flowers yellow or sometimes purplish; involucels inconspicuous, of 5 narrow bractlets.
Fruits: Subglobose burrs, 2-5 mm long, covered, except sometimes at the base, with stout, hooked prickles.
Moist to dry coastal bluffs, meadows and woodlands in the lowland zone; frequent in SW BC, known from S Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and adjacent coast, infrequent in WC BC, known from the Queen Charlotte Islands and Skeena River valley; S to CA and MX, disjunct to Chile.
