Pedicularis sparsissima P. C. Tsoong.

Herbs perennial, 20--35(--60) cm tall, not drying black. Roots often cespitose, ± conical, slender. Stems 1 to several, erect, with 2--4 lines of hairs to glabrescent, unbranched basally but branched apically; branches slender, opposite or whorled. Leaves in whorls of 4. Basal leaves withering early; petiole to 15 cm; leaf blade ovate, barely 7 mm, pinnatifid; segments ca. 3 pairs, dentate. Stem leaf petiole ca. 6 mm to ± absent; leaf blade elliptic-oblong to linear-oblong or ovate, 0.7--6 X 0.6--2.5 cm, abaxially sparsely white villous along veins, adaxially sparsely glandular pubescent, pinnatifid; segments 5--8 pairs, ovate to oblong-ovate, margin double dentate, teeth callose. Inflorescences lax, to 18 cm; bracts often leaflike. Calyx ovate, 4--5.5 mm, membranous, slightly cleft anteriorly, villous along veins; lobes 5, unequal, serrate. Corolla purple-red, 1.5--1.8 cm; tube decurved, slender, expanded apically; galea 3--4 mm, 1.2--1.5 mm wide apically, ± rounded in front, apex slightly convex; lower lip 6--8 X 8--10 mm, middle lobe obovate, slightly smaller than lateral pair, glabrous. Filaments glabrous. Capsule triangular-lanceolate, 1--1.3 cm, apex acute. Seeds elliptic, ca. 1 mm. Fl. Apr--Jul, fr. Jul--Sep.

Forests, alpine meadows; 1900--4600 m. Gansu, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, NW Yunnan [N Myanmar].