厚叶兔耳草 hou ye tu er cao

Herbs, 2-12 cm tall. Lateral roots few, fibrous. Rhizomes elongated, coarse, fleshy. Stems to 8, ascending. Basal leaves numerous, thick, fleshy; petiole stout, 2-7 cm, flattened, base expanded, sheathlike; leaf blade ovate to ovate-oblong, 2-6 cm, thick, base cuneate, margin coarsely toothed, apex obtuse, acuminate tipped. Stem leaves 3 or 4, subsessile, smaller than basal leaves. Spikes elongated, more than 1/2 as long as stem; bracts ovate, shorter than flower, margin subentire, apex acute. Calyx apex of upper side 2-lobed. Corolla blue-purple or white, 1-1.3 cm; tube straight, ca. 2 X as long as limb; lower lip lobes 2 or 3, lanceolate; upper lip unlobed, ovate-oblong. Filaments short; anthers reniform. Style shorter than corolla tube; stigma capitate or 2-lobed. Fruit oblong. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Alpine grassland; 4200-5300 m. Xizang (Yadong Xian) [Bhutan, Sikkim].