Leaf blades 3-5-lobed, 2-8 cm wide. Flowers: hypanthium 9-20 mm, 3 times as long as sepals; sepals 3-6.5 mm; petals yellow, turning orange.

Flowering Mar-Jun. Rocky slopes, sandy bluffs, shaded banks, prairies; 100-1900 m; Ont.; Ark., Colo., Conn., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nebr., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Vt., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.

Variety villosum is native primarily west of the Mississippi River; it has probably spread from cultivation elsewhere, especially in the northeastern United States and mid Atlantic region (A. S. Weakley, pers. comm.).