Basal leaves narrowly lanceolate, 6–11 × 0.3–0.7 cm, thickly papery, base tapered into petiole, not embracing.

This variety is widely used in Gansu and Qinghai as a substitute for the Chinese medicine “chai hu” (see B. chinense and B. scorzonerifolium).

Grassy places on mountain slopes; 2700–3700 m. Gansu, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai.