Shrubs, deciduous, 20-30 cm tall. Branches purplish black, sulcate, glabrous; shoots pale purplish red; internodes 6-10(-20) mm; spines 3-5-fid, sometimes simple, 8-12 mm. Leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade abaxially pale yellow-green, adaxially green, obovate, ca. 12 × 4 mm, papery, abaxially not pruinose, base attenuate, margin entire, apex rounded or acute. Flowers solitary. Pedicels 5-9 mm, glabrous; bractlets lanceolate, ca. 4 × 1 mm. Sepals in 2 whorls; outer sepals 6-7 × 4-4.5 mm; inner sepals 7-8 × 5-6 mm. Petals 6-6.5 × 3-3.5 mm, apex entire. Stamens ca. 3 mm; anther connective slightly prolonged, truncate. Ovules 3 or 4. Berry ovoid, 7-10 × 4-6 mm, without or with an extremely short style; seeds purple. Fl. Jun, fr. Aug-Sep.

Narrow valley slopes, valley floors, rocky soils, alpine thickets, alpine meadows; 3800-5000 m. Xizang [Nepal].