Plants densely tufted, with small growing point. Roots swollen, fusiform, tuberous. Leaves basal, grayish green, linear or sword-shaped, 10--27 cm × 2--7 mm at anthesis, 20--35 cm × 3--9 mm in fruit, veins 2 or 3, base surrounded by brown fibers. Flowering stems simple, 2--8 cm or not developed; spathes 3, green, lanceolate, 2--5 cm, 2--4-flowered, apex acuminate. Flowers violet, 2--5 cm in diam. Perianth tube slender, 3--5 cm; outer segments spreading, elliptic-obovate, 2.5--3 cm, crest orange, low, undulate; inner segments erect, oblanceolate, 1.7--2.7 cm. Stamens ca. 1.3 cm; anthers yellow. Style branches ca. 2 cm. Capsule green, ovoid, 1.5--2.5 × 1.3--1.5 cm, apex shortly beaked. Seeds black-brown, arillate. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Jul--Aug. 2 n = 28.

Open Pinus and Quercus - Pinus forests, sunny dry grasslands on plateaus; 1700--3700 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [NE India, Myanmar, ?Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam].