Pyrola atropurpurea var. gracilis Andres; P. gracilis (Andres) Andres.

Herbs 7–18 cm tall. Rhizome slender, branched. Leaves 2–4, crowded at base of aerial shoots; leaf blade reddish purple abaxially, green adaxially, cordate-ovate, (1–)1.5–3 × (1–)1.2–3 cm, papery, base cordate, margin slightly crenulate, apex obtuse. Scape erect, slender, without scales or 1 or 2 scale-shaped leaves, green-brown, lanceolate, membranous; raceme 2–4(–5) mm, naked or with 1 or 2 minute lanceolate bracts, 2–4-flowered. Pedicel 3–5 mm; bracts ovate, ca. 2 mm. Flowers nodding, cup-shaped, 0.8–1.5 cm in diam. Sepals reddish purple, ovate-triangular, ca. 1.5 × 1.5 mm, apex obtuse. Petals white, oblong-obovate, 5–7 × 3–5 mm, apex obtuse. Filaments glabrous; anthers yellow, ca. 3 × 1.5 mm, tubules present. Style exserted, recurved, 9–11 mm, dilated at apex into ring; stigma thickened, with 5 round lobes. Capsules 5–6 mm in diam. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.

Montane coniferous forests, mixed forests; 1800–4000 m. Gansu, ?Henan, Qinghai, ?Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.