Ranunculus nivalis Linnaeus var. tianschanicus Ruprecht.

Herbs perennial. Roots fibrous, subequally thick. Stems 8--25 cm, glabrous for most part, sparsely puberulent only below flower, simple or 1-branched. Basal leaves several; petiole 2--8.5 cm, glabrous; blade indistinctly 3-lobed, oblate or suborbicular, 0.8--2.5 × 0.9--3 cm, papery, glabrous, base subtruncate, broadly cuneate, or rounded, margin with 3--6 unequal obtuse or rounded teeth on each side, apex rounded. Stem leaves 2, sessile or short petiolate, cuneate-obovate, 3-lobed; lobes narrowly ovate, lateral ones sometimes unequally 2-lobed. Flowers solitary, terminal, 1.7--2.5 cm in diam. Receptacle puberulent. Sepals 5, ovate, 6.5--8 mm, abaxially blackish brown pubescent. Petals 5, broadly obovate or oblate, 9--12 × 10--11 mm, apex rounded-truncate or rounded. Stamens numerous; anthers narrowly oblong. Carpels numerous; ovary longer than style, glabrous. Fl. Jul.

Alpine meadows; 2500--3400 m. Xinjiang (Tian Shan) [Kazakhstan].