Species of bistorta are perennial herbaceous plants. Their roots are fibrous forming rhizomes. They have erect unbranched stems. Their leaves are usually longer than wide mostly basal but with some arranged alternately on the stems. The inflorescences are spikelike. The individual flowers have five white to purple-pink (rarely red) tepals. The flowers are bisexual although the 5–8 stamens are sometimes poorly developed. There are three styles. The fruits are in the form of achenes that are brown or dark brown unwinged and three-angled. As of winter 2019 about 42 species are accepted. Bistorta species are native throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere as far south as Mexico in North America and Thailand in Asia.