Perennial caespitose herb, 3-8 cm tall in fruit, erect, much branched from the base, often pilose with branched or simple hairs. Radical leaves densely rosulate, linear-oblong, 20-40 mm long, 1-2 mm broad, entire or shallowly toothed. Scapes aphyllous, rarely I-2-leaved; all leaves thickish, glabrous. Racemes 15-25-flowered, capitate, ebracteate, not increasing in length in fruit. Flowers c. 2 mm across, white or pinkish; pedicels 2-4 mm long in fruit; spreading or ascending. Sepals c. 2 mm long. Petals c. 3 mm long, 1 mm broad. Stamens c. 1.5 : 2 mm long; anthers c. 0.3 mm long. Fruits (3-) 3.5-4.5 mm long, 2.2 mm broad, ellipsoid, hairy or glabrous; valves 1-veined; style c. 0.5 mm long, inconspicuous with minute, depressed stigma; septum hyaline, not veined; seeds 4-10, sub-biser¬iate or 1-seriate, c. 1 mm long, ovoid, brownish.

Fl. Per.: June-July.

Type: Tibet, 3900-5400 m, Thomson (K).

Distribution: Tibet, Kashmir and Karakorum.

The species of this genus are inadequately known from our area. R. R. Stewart in his Ann. Catl. (1972) recorded one more species, Braya trinkleri Schmid (in Fedde, Rep. 31:46. 1932) from Laddak, which do not seem different from the above species. He had earlier in his manuscript of this Catalogue included 2 more species, Braya minellii Pamp. (in Bull. Soc. Bot. Ital. 29. 1915) and Braya foliosa Pamp. (ibid. 40. 1926) from Karakorum, but were later dropped from his Catalogue. I have not seen these references and had no access to any authentic specimen of these. The latter seems to be an Aphragmus (cf. A. oxycarpus).