Dianthus oreadum Hance; D. superbus Linnaeus f. longicalycinus Maximowicz; D. superbus var. longicalycinus (Maximowicz) F. N. Williams; D. superbus var. oreadum (Hance) Pampanini; D. superbus var. taiwanensis (Masamune) T. S. Liu & S. S. Ying; D. taiwanensis Masamune.

Herbs perennial, 40--80 cm tall. Stems erect, basally branched, glabrous, large jointed. Basal leaves several, withered at anthesis; cauline leaves linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, 4--10 cm × 2--5(--10) mm, base connate into a short sheath, margin serrulate, apex acuminate. Flowers 2 to several in lax cymes; bracts 6 or 8, appressed, leaflike, ovate, ca. 1/5 as long as calyx, margin broadly membranous, scabridulous, apex mucronate. Calyx green, long tubular, 3--4 cm, striate, glabrous; teeth lanceolate, 5--6 mm, apex sharply pointed. Petals pink, obovate or cuneate-oblong; limb fimbriate for ca. 1/2 its length. Stamens level with corolla throat. Styles linear, ca. 2 cm. Capsule narrowly cylindric, slightly shorter than calyx, 4-toothed. Fl. Jun--Aug, fr. Aug--Sep.

Forests, grassy mountain slopes, grasslands, exposed rocky places, river beds, fixed dunes; 800--2100 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea].