Isopyrum franchetii Finet & Gagnepain, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 51: 405. 1904.

Plant glabrous. Rhizome present, lateral roots dense. Stem 1--5, 9--26 cm tall. Basal leaves few, persistent or withering at anthesis; petiole 2.5--7 cm; leaf blade pentagonal, 1.5--3.3 × 1.2--3.2 cm; lateral leaflets subflabellate, obliquely ovate, or subround, unequal in size, smallest ones ca. 2 mm to almost as large as central leaflet; central leaflet suborbicular to subflabellate, 0.6--1.2 × 0.9--1.4 cm, margin apically 5-toothed; teeth apex retuse. Stem leaf 1, sometimes absent; petiole ca. 4.5 cm; leaf blade similar in shape to basal leaves. Flowering stems 5--11 cm, 3--7-flowered; lower bracts foliaceous, with a slender petiole, upper bracts sessile or shortly petiolate, 3--5-sect. Flowers 4.2--6 mm in diam. Pedicel slender. Sepals white, obovate, 3.5--4.5 × ca. 2 mm, apex obtuse. Petal limbs suborbicular, 1--1.2 mm, apex retuse or entire; claw as long as or slightly longer than limb. Stamens 2--3 mm; anthers ca. 0.3 mm. Follicles 7--9(--10) mm; persistent styles ca. 0.5 mm. Seeds 7 or 8, pale yellowish brown, globose, ca. 1 mm in diam., smooth. Fl. Apr--May, fr. May--Jun.

* Mountainous forests; 1300--3200 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan.