Perennial with fibrous to slightly fleshy roots. Leaves all or mostly tufted at base; petioles 5–25 cm long, with fine spreading hairs; lamina deltoid to ovate in outline, 2–6 cm long and wide, sparsely to rather densely covered with silky appressed or weakly spreading hairs, 3-lobed to trifoliolate, the segments toothed or further lobed. Flowering stems erect, exceeding leaves, with spreading to semi-appressed hairs, 1(–3)-flowered; sepals 5, spreading, ovate to elliptic, 3–7 mm long, hairy on back; petals 5, broadly obovate, 6–15 mm long, 5–12 mm wide, yellow, glossy; nectary lobe oblong and free for the greater part, c. 0.5 mm long overall; stamens 30–70. Achenes usually 20–50, obliquely obovate, lenticular, 2–3 mm long, smooth on sides; beak strongly curved, c. 1 mm long; receptacle hispid between achenes, glabrous in the staminal zone. Flowers Oct.–Jan.
VRiv, EGU, HSF, HNF, MonT, VAlp. Also NSW, ACT. Locally common in herbfield, grassland and Snow-gum woodland communities almost throughout the alps, but apparently absent from the Baw Baws, and relatively uncommon on the Bogong High Plains (where largely replaced by R. victoriensis).
