Gentiana pygmaea Regel & Schmalhausen, Izv. Imp. Obshch. Ljubit. Estestv. Moskovsk. Univ. 34(2): 54. 1882; Aliopsis pygmaea (Regel & Schmalhausen) Omer & Qaiser; G. thomsonii C. B. Clarke.

Annuals 1-3 cm tall. Stems prostrate to ascending, striate, much branched from base. Leaves short petiolate; leaf blade spatulate to obovate, 3-9 × 1-1.2 mm including petiole, base narrowed, apex obtuse to rounded, veins indistinct. Flowers terminal, solitary, 4merous. Pedicel ascending, to 2 cm. Calyx 3-4 mm; lobes erect, elliptic to rhomboid, base narrowed, apex subrounded, veins 3 and indistinct. Corolla pale yellow, tubular, 4.5-5.5 × 3-4 mm; lobes oblong, 2-2.5 mm, apex subrounded. Nectaries 8. Stamens inserted just above middle of corolla tube; filaments white, 1.5-2 mm; anthers yellow, ellipsoid, ca. 0.5 mm. Style linear; stigma lobes purple, suborbicular. Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid, 5.5-6 mm. Seeds dark brown, subglobose, 0.7-0.8 mm; seed coat reticulate. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

Sandy slopes, alpine rocky places; 3600-5300 m. Qinghai, N Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang [India, Kyrgystan, Sikkim, Tajikistan].