Orithyia heterophylla Regel in Regel & Herder, Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 41(1): 440. 1868.

Bulb ovoid, slightly elongate apically, 1--1.4 cm in diam.; tunic brown or blackish brown, papery, glabrous inside. Stem 9--15 cm, glabrous. Leaves 2, opposite, linear or linear-lanceolate, not overtopping flower, 4.5--5.5 cm × 2--4 mm, glabrous. Bracts absent. Flower solitary. Tepals yellow, lanceolate, 2--3 cm × 4--8 mm; outer ones abaxially tinged with purplish green; inner ones abaxially broadly streaked with purplish green at center. Stamens equal; filaments glabrous. Style 4--6 mm. Capsule narrowly ellipsoid, 2.5--3 cm × 6--8 mm, apex long beaked. Fl. Jun, fr. Jul.

Gravelly slopes, sunny places; 2100--3100 m. Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan].