Viola bulbosa var. franchetii H. Boissieu; V. bulbosa subsp. tuberifera (Franchet) W. Becker; V. filifera Komarov; V. hookeri Franchet (1886), not Thomson & W. Becker (1916); V. multistolonifera C. J. Wang; V. tuberifera Franchet; V. tuberifera var. brevipedicellata S. Y. Chen; V. tuberifera var. pseudopalustris H. Léveillé.

Herbs perennial, dwarf, shortly caulescent, 2.5-4.5 cm tall. Rhizome erect, long, slender, with numerous underground stolons and a small bulb in lower part; bulb 5-6 mm in diam., consisting of 4-6, white, fleshy boat-shaped scales, with numerous fibrous roots in lower part. Leaves clustered at apex of stem; stipules 1-1.4 cm, only 1/3 adnate to petioles, free part linear-lanceolate, ciliate or glabrous, apex acute; petiole narrowly winged, usually shorter than or subequaling blade, puberulous; leaf blade oblong-ovate, suborbicular or reniform, 1-2.5 cm × 5-14 mm, glabrous, or white puberulous abaxially particularly on young leaves, base cuneate or narrowly cordate, margin serrate or crenate, apex rounded or sometimes acute. Flowers white, small; pedicels produced from leaf axils of stem, usually slightly exceeding or subequaling leaves, 2-bracteolate above middle; bracteoles linear. Sepals ovate or oblong, 3-4 × 1.2-1.5 mm, apex acute, basal auricles orbicular, short, glabrous or ciliate. Petals obovate, lateral ones 8-10 mm, glabrous or bearded, anterior one 7-8 mm, purple-violet striate, apex emarginate; spur saccate, short, 1.2-1.7 mm, stout, ca. 2 mm in diam., apex obtuse; anthers ca. 2.5 mm (appendage of connectives included); spur of 2 anterior stamens short, stout, apex obtuse and slightly curved. Ovary glabrous; styles slightly geniculate at base, slightly thickened upward; stigmas triangular, slightly thickened and narrowly margined on lateral sides and abaxially, apex conspicuously beaked, beak short, nearly erect, stigma hole nearly as large as beak. Capsule ovoid. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jun-Sep. 2n = 24.

Mountain valleys, grasslands on mountain slopes, forest margins, thickets, fields; 1900-4200 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Nepal].