Amelia minor (Linnaeus) Alefeld; Braxilia minor (Linnaeus) House; B. parvifolia Rafinesque; Erxlebenia minor (Linnaeus) Rydberg; E. rosea Opiz.

Herbs (7–)12–20 cm tall. Rhizome creeping, long, somewhat slender, 0.5–1 mm in diam., branched, with sparse fine roots. Aerial stems ascending, short or somewhat long, 0.5–2.5 cm, not branched. Leaves appearing radical, 4–8, in 2 or 3 subverticils of 2–4 each; petiole 1–2.5 cm; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, broadly elliptic to orbicular, 1.5–4.5 × 1.5–3 cm, base obtuse to truncate, margin crenulate to obsoletely serrulate, apex obtuse or mucronulate. Scape erect, 8–18 cm tall, angled, glabrous, with 3–5 broadly lanceolate-elliptic or broadly oblanceolate scales at base, up to 2 leafy scales or leaves near base, and up to 2 narrowly lanceolate to broadly linear scales near middle; raceme densely 7–16-flowered, 2–3.5 cm. Pedicel 3–6 mm; bracts broadly linear, 3–6 mm, usually longer than pedicel. Flowers drooping, regular, 6–7 mm in diam. Sepals depressed-deltoid or broadly ovate, 1–2 × 1–2 mm, apex obtuse to acuminate. Petals white, 3–6 mm, apex retuse. Filaments connivent, surrounding pistil, short, thick, glabrous; anthers yellow, 0.9–1.4 mm, without distinct tubules, apex truncate, opening by wide terminal pores. Style included, ca. 2 mm, straight or slightly curved, not dilated at apex into a ring; stigma with a collar and 5 radially arched lobes. Capsules 4–6 mm in diam. Fl. Jul, fr. Aug. 2n = 46.

This is a rare species in China.

Subalpine deciduous broad-leaved forests; 500–2500 m. Heilongjiang, Jilin, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan [Japan, N Korea, Russia; widely distributed in cool N temperate and subarctic zones].