Shrubs, ca. 1 m tall, with divaricate long branches bearing short pinnately arranged ones. Stems 2-4-lined and ancipitous when young, eventually terete; internodes 1-3 cm, shorter than to exceeding leaves. Leaves subsessile or with petiole to 1 mm; blade narrowly oblong to elliptic or subcircular, 1-3.1 × 0.6-1.6 cm, thickly papery, abaxially ± densely glaucous; laminar glands small to very small dots; abaxial glands absent; main lateral veins faint, ca. 3-paired, without or with very faintly visible tertiary reticulation; base cuneate to short angustate, apex subapiculate to rounded. Inflorescence 1-flowered, terminal and on short lateral branches; bracts leaflike, persistent. Pedicels 0.8-1.2 cm. Flowers 2.5-4.5(-5) cm in diam., stellate; buds narrowly ellipsoid, apex acute. Sepals free or united at base, spreading or recurved, linear or rarely elliptic, equal to subequal, 3-6(-10) × 0.5-2 mm; laminar glands ca. 4, basally lines, distally dots, margin entire, apex acute. Petals golden yellow to ?orange, oblanceolate, (1.1-)1.5-2.2(-2.4) cm × 4-8(-10) mm, 2.5-3.5 × as long as sepals; margin entire, eglandular; apiculus absent or nearly so. Stamen fascicles each with 15-25 stamens, longest 1.5-2.5 cm, 1-1.2 × as long as petals. Ovary ellipsoid to globose, 3-4 × 2-3 mm, sometimes substipitate; styles 1-1.8 cm, 3.5-6 × as long as ovary, united nearly to apices then spreading. Capsule ovoid, (4-)6-12 × 4-5 mm, sometimes substipitate. Seeds not seen. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Aug-Sep.

The fruit of Hypericum longistylum is used medicinally. Two subspecies have been recognized.

● Open sunny places, cliffs, dry banks and slopes, streamsides; 200-2100 m. Anhui, Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi.