Plants 30–80 cm. Root fusiform; rootstock short. Stem erect, purplish striate, branching. Lower petioles 10–19 cm; blade broad-ovate, 10–20 × 8–16 cm, ternate-2–3-pinnate, primary pinnae 4–6 pairs; ultimate segments ovate, 2–3 × 1–2 cm, hispid on veins, margins 3–5-lobed. Upper leaves reduced. Umbels terminal and lateral, 3–7 cm across; bracts 2, linear, scabrid, margins narrow membranous, caducous; rays 8–16, subequal, 2–3 cm; bracteoles 8–10, linear, longer than umbellules in flower, and subequal to pedicels in fruit. Calyx teeth obsolete. Petals white, oblong-ovate. Styles ca. 0.5 × fruit, reflexed. Fruit oblong, 3–4 × 2–2.5 mm; dorsal and intermediate ribs filiform, lateral ribs narrowly winged; vittae 1(–2) in each furrow, 2–4 on commissure. Seed face plane. Fl. Aug–Sep, fr. Sep–Oct.
Forests, meadows, streamsides, damp places; 1200–2500 m. Hebei, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi.
The roots and rootstock are used as “liao gao ben” (see also Ligusticum sinense, “gao ben”), an important, analgesic and anti-inflammatory herb of traditional Chinese medicine.