Originally from China, it is also native to temperate regions of Europe, Asia, North Africa, and Alaska. Besides its medicinal uses, this plant can be eaten cooked or raw as a salad. Its leaves can also be used as a seasoning.

It grows well in moist soil, rich in humus and organic fertilizer, nitrogenous soil (containing a lot of nitrogen), and can live in areas with an altitude of up to 3,000 m above sea level.

• The taproot is yellowish-brown in color.

• The stem has numerous branches, grooves, and hairs.

• The leaves are ovate, with palmate edges and a tapered tip. Both surfaces are finely hairy, green, with a white underside.

• Small, pale yellow inflorescences emerge from the leaf axils and the tip of the stalk, forming a drooping, drooping inflorescence.

• The fruit is small, brown, needle-shaped.