Herbs perennial ca. 4(--8) cm tall, drying black. Roots ± fleshy. Stems 1--5, unbranched, shiny, with membranous scales at base. Leaves mostly basal; petiole 1.5--3 cm, slender, glabrescent; leaf blade oblong, 1--1.7 cm X 3--5 mm, abaxially rust colored pubescent, adaxially glabrous, pinnatisect; segments 8--12 pairs, oblong to ovate-oblong, dentate. Inflorescences ca. 3-flowered; bracts leaflike, 0.8--1.5 cm. Pedicel 2--4(--7) mm, slender, sparsely villous. Calyx ca. 1 cm X 2.5--3 mm, slightly cleft anteriorly, pubescent; lobes 5, unequal, serrate. Corolla purple-red, ca. 2.3 cm; tube ± erect, 1--1.2 cm; galea slightly falcate, with a short, wide beaklike apex, truncate, with 1 distinct subapical, marginal tooth on each side; lower lip ca. 7 mm, glabrous. Filaments glabrous. Capsule oblong-ovoid, 1.1--1.3 cm, slightly oblique, apex acute. Fl. Jun--Jul, fr. Jul--Aug.

Alpine meadows; 3200--4900 m. SW Gansu, NW Sichuan [?Bhutan].