厚叶美花草 hou ye mei hua cao

Callianthemum alatavicum Image Credit: Tatyana Shulkina

Rhizome 3--4 mm in diam. Stems suberect, 8--18 cm, unbranched or branched once. Basal leaves 3--4, not fully expanded at anthesis; petiole 3.5--10 cm, basally sheathed; leaf blade narrowly ovate to ovate-oblong, 3.7--8.8 × 2.2--4.5 cm, subleathery when dry, with 4 or 5 pairs of lateral leaflets, basal ones with slender petiole, others shortly petiolate; leaflets 2 × pinnately divided; segments sessile, margin 1-toothed or entire, apically cuneiform-obovate. Stem leaves 2 or 3, similar to basal leaves but smaller. Flowers 1.7--2.5 cm in diam. Sepals subelliptic, 7--10 × 4--5 mm. Petals 5--7, white but basally brown, obovate, 0.9--1.4 × 0.8--1.1 cm, apex rounded. Stamens ca. 1/2 as long as petal; anthers narrowly oblong. Aggregate fruit ovoid, 3.5--4 × 2--3 mm, slightly rugose. Fl. May--Jun.

Grassy slopes, mountain valleys; 2600--3400 m. Xinjiang [Kashmir, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia].