Gentiana microtophora C. Marquand; G. minuta N. E. Brown.

Perennials 2-5 cm tall. Taproot cylindric, 3-5 × 0.2-0.3 cm. Stems perennial, many, prostrate to ascending, slender, simple. Basal rosette leaves absent or very small; leaf blade triangular, less than 5 mm. Stem leaves crowded, withering toward stem base; petiole 3-5 mm; leaf blade elliptic to ovate, 1.5-3 × 1.2-1.5 mm, papillate, base obtuse, margin cartilaginous and scabrous, apex acute to obtuse, vein 1. Flowers terminal, solitary. Pedicel 2-3 mm, slender. Calyx shallowly cupular, tube 2-2.5 mm; lobes slightly spreading, ovate, 1.8-2.2 mm, unequal, margin cartilaginous and scabrous, apex acute to obtuse. Corolla dark blue, tubular, (4-)7-10 mm; lobes ovate-elliptic, 3-3.5 mm, apex obtuse; plicae auricular, 0.3-0.5 mm. Stamens inserted at middle of corolla tube; filaments 2.7-3 mm; anthers 0.8-1 mm. Style 0.5-1 mm; stigma lobes narrowly triangular. Capsules sessile, ellipsoid, 8-10 mm. Seeds dark brown, nearly globose, 1.1-1.3 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct.

Alpine meadows; 4100-4500 m. S and SE Xizang, W Yunnan [Bhutan, NE Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim].