Lilium potaninii Vrishcz; L. pumilum var. potaninii (Vrischz) Y. Z. Zhao; L. sinensium Gandoger; L. tenuifolium Fischer ex Hooker.

Bulb ovoid or conical, 2--3 cm in diam.; scales white, oblong or narrowly ovate, 2--3 × 1--1.5 cm. Stem sometimes streaked with purple, 15--60 cm, papillose. Leaves scattered near middle of stem, linear, 3.5--9 × 1.5--3 cm, midvein prominent abaxially, margin papillose. Flowers solitary or several in a raceme, nodding. Tepals revolute, bright red, usually unspotted, occasionally with a few spots near base, 4--4.5 cm × 8--11 mm, not minutely papillose adaxially; nectaries papillose on both surfaces. Filaments 1.2--2.5 cm, glabrous; anthers yellow, with reddish pollen, ca. 1 cm. Ovary 8--10 mm. Style 1--2 cm. Capsule oblong, ca. 2 × 1.2--1.8 cm. Fl. Jul--Aug, fr. Sep--Oct. 2 n = 24*.

The bulbs are edible and medicinal.

Forest margins, grassy slopes; 400--2600 m. Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi [Korea, Mongolia, Russia (C and E Siberia)].