Herbs perennial. Sterile shoots arising from base. Flowering stems 5-10 cm. Proximal stem leaves opposite or 3-6-verticillate; leaf blade obovate, 5-15 × 3-5 mm. Distal stem leaves alternate; leaf blade oblanceolate-linear, 5-20 × 1-2 mm, apex obtuse. Cyme 2- or 3-branched, lax; branches 3- to several flowered; bracts linear. Flowers unequally 5-merous. Sepals broadly linear to narrowly lanceolate, unequal, 3-7 mm, base shortly spurred, apex obtuse. Petals yellow, broadly lanceolate, ca. 5 mm, apex acute. Stamens 10; antesepalous ones ca. 4 mm; antepetalous ones inserted slightly above petal base. Nectar scales broadly cuneate, ca. 0.4 × 0.5 mm, apex truncate. Carpels erect, lanceolate, ca. 5 mm, base connate for ca. 2 mm. Styles slender, ca. 2 mm. Follicles stellately divergent at maturity. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Jul-Aug.

The plants from China have also been treated as Sedum subtile subsp. chinense H. Ohba (J. Jap. Bot. 61: 227. 1986). Sedum wannanense X. H. Guo et al. (Acta Bot. Yunnan. 21: 25. 1999) and S. wannanense var. incarnatum X. H. Guo et al. (loc. cit.: 26), both described from SE Anhui (Ningguo Xian), may possibly be synonymous with S. subtile.

Shady moist rocks on low mountains; 1000-1500 m. Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shanxi [Vietnam].