Plants 10-25 cm tall. Tuberoids clustered, whitish, palmately lobed, 2-4 cm long. Stems terete, glabrous, with many longitudinal small ridges, bearing few sheaths at base. Leaves oblong, becoming lanceolate and bract-like upward, 3-10 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, acute or acuminate at apex, sheathing and enclosing stem at base. Spike terminal, 5-10 cm long, with 10-30 flowers; bracts usually longer than flowers, linear-lanceolate, 2-3 cm long, acuminate. Flowers green, often tinged with red, ca. 1.2 cm in diam.; dorsal sepal 4-6 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide, apex obtuse, contracted at base; lateral sepals fal-cate-ovate, slightly longer than dorsal one; petals falcate-linear, 5-6 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide; lip pale green but red-flushed on either sides, cuneate-rectangular, 5-7 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, bifid at apex and with tooth in sinus, base with wide hole leading into spur, spur saccate, often bending forward, 2-3 mm long; column 1.8 mm tall, staminodes small or obscure.

ILAN: Nanhutashan, Su 1170*, 8321. TAICHUNG: Hsueshan, Su 7928.

Circumpolar distribution, with range extending southward to high mountains of Asia. Taiwan, found in alpine grassland or under alpine scrubs above 3,000 m.