Lychnis adenantha (Franchet) Diels; Melandrium adenanthum (Franchet) Handel-Mazzetti; M. asclepiadeum (Franchet) Handel-Mazzetti ex Pax & K. Hoffmann; M. kermesinum (W. W. Smith) Handel-Mazzetti; M. viscidulum (Franchet) F. N. Williams var. szechuanensis (F. N. Williams) Handel-Mazzetti; Silene adenantha Franchet; S. asclepiadea var. glutinosa Franchet; S. kermesina W. W. Smith; S. lutea Franchet; S. szechuanensis F. N. Williams.

Herbs perennial, basally crispate-puberulent to subglabrous, apically glandular hairy. Roots clustered, cylindric, fleshy. Stems diffuse, to 1 m, much branched. Leaves sessile, broadly ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 4--7 × 2--4 cm, glabrous or sparsely hairy abaxially and at veins adaxially, conspicuously 3- or 5-veined. Dichasial cymes lax and broad; proximal pedicels to 5 cm, subsequent ones much shorter, densely glandular hairy; bracts ovate-lanceolate, herbaceous, glandular pubescent. Calyx campanulate, 8--12(--13) × ca. 4 mm, base rounded, slightly inflated in late maturity, densely violet glandular villous at veins; calyx teeth triangular-ovate, subobtuse and shortly ciliate. Androgynophore 1--2 mm, glabrous. Petals ca. 1.5 cm; claws cuneate, glabrous, erose above; limbs violet or pale pink, 4-lobed; medial lobes narrowly orbicular; lateral lobes linear, small; coronal scales subsquarrose, margin dentate or entire. Stamens and styles exserted; filaments glabrous. Styles 3. Capsule ovoid, ca. 1 cm, shorter than calyx. Seeds reniform, with auricular pit. Fl. Jul--Aug, fr. Aug--Oct.

The type material of Silene kermesina is slightly heterogeneous; the specimen at BM has slightly larger and less hairy calyces, whereas the specimen at E fits well with our concept of S. asclepiadea .

* Scrub grasslands, forest edges; 1300--3900 m. Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan.