Polygonatum pumilum Hua.

Rhizome terete, 3--7 mm thick, usually with slightly swollen annual knots; annual elongation (distance between knots) 2--3.5 cm. Stem erect, less than 10 cm, glabrous. Leaves several to more than 10, usually crowded, proximal ones alternate, distal ones opposite or in whorls of 3, sessile, linear to oblong, 2--4.5 cm × 3--8 mm, glabrous. Inflorescence solitary in axil of basal leaf, 1(or 2)-flowered; bracts small, membranous, caducous. Flower erect; pedicel 4--7 mm. Perianth purple or pink, cylindric-funnelform, 1.5--2(--2.5) cm; tube 3--4 mm wide; lobes 6--10 mm. Filaments very short, ca. 0.5 mm; anthers ca. 2 mm. Ovary 2--3 mm. Style 1.5--2 mm. Berry red, 7--8 mm in diam., 5--7-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Sep--Oct. 2 n = 30.

Forests, grassy slopes, alluvial soil; 3200--4300 m. Gansu, Qinghai, ?S Shaanxi (Qin Ling) Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [N India, Sikkim].