Parrya pamirica Botschantzev & Vvedensky, Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 1965: 279. 1965.

Plants 5-10(-15) cm tall, densely cespitose; caudex branched, densely covered with petiolar remains of previous years. Petiole broadened at base, ciliate, (0.5-)1-3(-4.2) cm; leaf blade spatulate or oblanceolate, rarely obovate, elliptic, or oblong, (0.7-)1-4(-5) cm × (3-)4-10(-15) mm, sparsely to densely pubescent with simple and short-stalked, forked trichomes, base cuneate or attenuate, margin entire or rarely few toothed, apex subacute to rounded. Flowers 2-7 per rosette, on solitary pedicels from center of rosette. Fruiting pedicels erect-ascending, glabrous, (1-)2-6(-7) cm. Sepals oblong, 6-10 × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, white margined. Petals obovate, (1.3-)1.5-2.2(-2.6) cm × (4-)6-8(-9) mm, apex rounded; claw (6-)8-11 mm. Filaments white, median pairs (4.5-)6-8 mm, lateral pair (2.5-)4-6 mm; anthers linear, 2.5-3 mm. Ovules 24-40 per ovary. Fruit linear to linear-lanceolate, (2.5-)3.5-7(-9) cm × 3-6(-7) mm, margin straight or undulate. Seeds orbicular, (2.5-)3-4 mm in diam., uni- or biseriate, flattened, broadly winged; wing undulate, 0.5-1 mm wide. Fl. and Fr. Jul-Sep.

The protologue of Parrya pamirica indicated that the species occurs in China, but no specimens were cited. In fact, Chinese plants have been repeatedly misidentified as L. exscapa (see below), both in Chinese herbaria and in the account in FRPS (as Parrya exscapa). Leiospora pamirica is highly variable in the density of its indumentum; in very sparsely pubescent plants, branched trichomes can still be found along the leaf margin.

Dry stony plains, rocky cliffs; 3900-5500 m. Xinjiang, Xizang [Kashmir, Tajikistan].