Herbs perennial, bulbiferous. Bulb narrowly ovoid or cylindric; tunic black-brown, scarious; bulbels many, with several fleshy scales and hard tunics. Stem erect, stout, glabrous or subglabrous. Leaves basal and cauline, alternate, sessile, linear to linear-lanceolate. Inflorescence a terminal raceme, few to many flowered; bracts linear. Flowers bisexual, campanulate to funnelform; pedicel usually rather short. Tepals 6, free, usually blue, purple, or red. Stamens 6, inserted at base of tepals; filaments filiform, slightly widened toward base; anthers dorsifixed, versatile, ellipsoid to narrowly so. Ovary 3-loculed; ovules many per locule. Style columnar, rather long, slender; stigma 3-lobed, lobes slightly recurved. Fruit a loculicidal capsule. Seeds many, flat, narrowly or scarcely winged all round.

Five species: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim; SW Asia (Iran, Iraq); three species in China.

(Authors: Liang Songyun (梁松筠 Liang Song-jun); Minoru N. Tamura)