Gentiana trichotoma Kusnezow var. brevicaulis C. Marquand.

Perennials 5-25 cm tall. Rhizomes to 15 cm. Stems 1-3 or more, erect, simple, glabrous. Basal leaves in 2-5 erect rosettes; petiole 2-7 cm, membranous; leaf blade oblong, narrowly elliptic, or oblanceolate, 3-8 cm × 4-13 mm, base narrowed, apex obtuse to rounded, veins 3. Stem leaves 3 or 4 pairs; petiole to 2 cm, shorter toward stem base and absent toward apex; leaf blade spatulate to oblanceolate, 2.5-3.5 cm × 5-10 mm, both ends obtuse. Inflorescences terminal clusters of (3-)5-10 flowers, sometimes also few-flowered axillary clusters, axillary clusters rarely on pedunclelike branches. Flowers sessile or subsessile. Calyx purple, narrowly obconic, 8-10 mm, outside sometimes papillate, tube entire or rarely slightly split on 1 side; lobes spreading to reflexed, subulate to triangular, 2-3 mm, unequal. Corolla dark blue, rarely pale yellow-white with blue spots basally, funnelform, 2.3-3.5 cm; lobes ovate, 3.5-5 mm, margin denticulate, apex obtuse; plicae obliquely triangular to truncate, 1-1.5 mm, margin denticulate. Stamens inserted at middle of corolla tube; filaments 8-10 mm; anthers narrowly ellipsoid, 2.5-3.5 mm. Style 4-5 mm; stigma lobes ovate. Capsules cylindric to ovoid-ellipsoid, 1.5-2 cm; gynophore 1-1.5 cm, slender. Seeds light brown, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, 1.5-2 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Nov.

Gentiana atuntsiensis is similar to G. microdonta. Although T. N. Ho treats them as distinct, J. S. Pringle considers G. atuntsiensis as a synonym of G. microdonta.

* Alpine meadows, scrub, forests; 2700-4800 m. SE Xizang, NW Yunnan