Rhizome moniliform, 7--10 mm thick. Stem erect, 40--80 cm, glabrous. Leaves alternate; petiole very short; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate or occasionally narrowly oblong, 6--12 × 1.5--3.5 cm, glabrous, apex acuminate. Inflorescences 2(or 3)-flowered; peduncle 2--6 cm; bracts 2(or 3), borne at base of pedicel and enclosing flower bud, subequaling mature pedicel, membranous, deciduous. Flowers pendulous; pedicel ca. 5 mm. Perianth pale green, cylindric-campanulate, ca. 2 cm; lobes ca. 2 mm. Filaments slightly curved, compressed, ca. 3 mm, papillose, apex with a retrorse spur ca. 1.5 mm; anthers 2.5--3 mm. Ovary ca. 5 mm. Style ca. 1.5 cm. Berries purple, 7--8 mm in diam., 4--6-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Sep--Oct. 2 n = 22*, 26*.

* Forests; 1100--1900 m. Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan.