Herbs perennial. Stems tufted, base diffuse, nearly erect above, 5--15 cm tall, slender, with 1 line of hairs. Leaves dense and small proximally, distal leaves sessile, linear-lanceolate, 5--10 × ca. 1 mm, both surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent, midvein raised abaxially, base cuneate, semiclasping, apex acuminate. Flowers in terminal cymes; bracts herbaceous. Sepals 5, lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, midvein conspicuous, 3-veined, margin membranous, apex acuminate. Petals 5, ca. 2/3 as long as sepals, 2-cleft nearly to base. Stamens 10. Ovary ovoid; ovules ca. 10; styles 3, linear. Capsule cylindric, slightly longer than persistent sepals. Seeds brown, reniform. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Jul--Aug.

* Gullies, slopes, plateaus; 1200--4800 m. Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan.