Gentiana algida Pallas var. nubigena (Edgeworth) Kusnezow; G. przewalskii Maximowicz.

Perennials 3-10(-17) cm tall. Rhizomes short. Stems 1 or 2, erect, simple, papillate at first, glabrescent. Basal leaves in 1-4 erect rosettes; petiole 1-3 cm, membranous; leaf blade sometimes folded, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or spatulate, 2-6 cm × 2-11 mm, base narrowed, apex obtuse to rounded, glabrous or papillate when young, veins 1-3 and prominent. Stem leaves 1-3 pairs; petiole 5-10 mm; leaf blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 1.5-3 cm × 3-7 mm, apex obtuse; veins 1-3, abaxially prominent. Inflorescences terminal, 1-3-flowered clusters. Flowers sessile or subsessile. Calyx obconic, 1.5-2.7 cm, tube entire; lobes erect, unequal, usually narrowly oblong, 2-8.5 mm, apex obtuse. Corolla dark blue to blue-purple, with pale yellow-white base and dark blue streaks, tubular-campanulate, 3.5-6 cm; lobes ovate, 3-4.5 mm, margin entire or denticulate, apex obtuse; plicae obliquely truncate, margin erose. Stamens inserted at basal part of corolla tube; filaments 1.2-2.2 cm; anthers linear to narrowly ellipsoid, 2-3.5 mm. Style 3-6 mm; stigma lobes linear. Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid, 2-3 cm; gynophore to 3 cm. Seeds light brown, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, 1.6-2 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Most material labeled as Gentiana przewalskii is correctly placed in G. algida.

Bog meadows, alpine meadows and scrub, rocky places in high mountains; 3000-5300 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Xizang [Bhutan, NW India, Kashmir, Nepal, Sikkim]