An erect glabrous glaucous perennial herb up to 50 cm tall with several subsimple stems arising from a stout rootstock. Stem-leaves alternate, subsessile; leaf-blades linear, oblong-linear, linear-lanceolate, lanceolate or oblanceolate, 1.5-6 cm x 1-11 mm, acute, subacute, obtuse, rounded or even retuse at the apex, rounded to attenuate at the base, entire, flat or sometimes revolute, coriaceous, palmi- or triplinerved. Pseudumbel (2-) 3-4 (-5)-rayed, the rays once to 3 times bifid and then often proliferating as densely-leafy sterile shoots with linear leaves; axillary rays and/or proliferating shoots often formed below the pseudumbel; pseudumbel-leaves 2-5, opposite or whorled, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, otherwise resembling the upper stem-leaves; ray-leaves opposite, sessile, generally smaller than but otherwise resembling the pseudumbel-leaves. Cyathia large, 5-8 mm diam., pedunculate, the one terminating the main axis often borne on a peduncle upto 2 cm long. Glands green, transversely ovate, truncate or somewhat denticulate on the outer edge and usually with 2 short, pale horns, one at each end. Fruit long-pedicellate, the pedicels upto 1 cm long, depressed rounded-trilobate, 4.5 x 6 mm, ± smooth, olivaceous. Styles suberect or spreading, united at the base, 1.5 mm long, narrowly winged, ad-axially sulcate, stigmas bifid. Seeds ovoid-subglobose, 3.5 x 3 mm, shallowly punctate-rugulose, pale grey on the ridges, somewhat darker in the depressions, with a minute readily caducous caruncle.

Fl. & Pr. Per.: Feb. - Sept.

Holotype: Nepal, F. Buchanan-Hamilton s.n. (BM). Isotype (LINN-SM).

Distribution: N. India, Nepal, N. Burma, SW China (Yunnan, Sichuan). On open grassy slopes, north-facing slopes, by field-borders and in pine-forest; 1500'/457 m. -5000'/1525 m.