A small plant with a thin, creeping, branching rhizome. On the tips of the branches, two leaves develop on long petioles, with a blade that is roundish-heart-shaped with a deeply notched base; the leaves are leathery, dark green on top, smooth, and pubescent with a reddish tint on the underside, and remain throughout the winter. Between the leaves, a drooping flower develops; the flower is bell-shaped, deeply 3-lobed, dark red in color; it has 12 stamens; the ovary is single with 6 fused styles. It blooms in May and bears fruit in June.
It grows in shaded areas, primarily in fir forests of the European part of the USSR and Western Siberia. A closely related species, Asarum georgicum, grows in the Caucasus.
Fresh leaves and rhizomes with roots are collected. Both the rhizomes and leaves contain essential oil. The rhizomes with roots make up about 45% of the total plant mass; the essential oil content in the rhizomes is 2.1–3.6%, in the roots is 1.6–2.2%, and in the leaves is 0.1–0.2% (on a completely dry mass basis). The oil contains azaron (30–50%), methyl eugenol (15–20%), and other compounds.
Fresh leaves, in a ratio of 1:2000, are included in the medication «Akofit,» which is used for acute radiculitis.