A tuberous, often stemless, perennial herb. Leaves several from the crown, petioles up to 20 cm long, blade suborbicular, up to 8 X 11 cm, base deeply cordate, apex very obtuse, margin often shallowly and irregularly lobed, obscurely crenate, both suifaces and generally the petiole thinly clad with long white hairs, light green, juveniles sometimes white-spotted, veins often pinkish or reddish. Flowering stems up to 30 cm high, often much shorter, usually leafless, occasionally with a few leaves similar to but smaller than the radical ones, glabrous or sparsely hairy, often pinkish or reddish, bracts in pairs subtending each di- or trichotomy, ovate, margins sometimes ciliate-fimbriate. Flowers 2-3 cm across, pure white, tepals of 3 flowers generally 4, of ? generally 5. Fruits 3-winged, cuneiform in outline, about 2 x 2 cm across the broadest part of the wings, placentae undivided. Fig. 44: 1; 45: 4.
