Lychnis multicaulis Wallich ex Bentham; Melandrium brachypetalum (Hornemann) Fenzl var. tibetanum Rohrbach; M. multicaule (Wallich ex Bentham) Walpers.

Herbs perennial, 10--50 cm tall. Roots robust, multicrowned. Stems caespitose, erect, simple, densely pubescent. Basal leaves linear-lanceolate, 3--14 cm × 3--7 mm, midvein prominent, glabrous or subglabrous, base attenuate into petiole, ± connate, apex acuminate; distal leaves sessile, homomorphic with basal leaves, ± connate at base, both surfaces and margin pubescent. Inflorescence an irregular elongate thyrsoid with (short-and) long stalked densely 3--7-flowered cymules; flowers nutant, erect in late anthesis. Pedicel 5--10 mm in fruit, densely pubescent; bracts linear, pubescent. Calyx cylindric-campanulate in early anthesis, 7--9 × 3--4 mm, soon becoming broader as capsule swells, densely pubescent, round at base, open at apex; longitudinal veins dark violet or deep greenish brown, not raised, usually cohering at calyx teeth. Androgynophore to 1 mm, pubescent. Petals exserted 2--3 mm beyond calyx, violet; claws broadly cuneate, 6--8 mm, subglabrous at base, very broadly auriculate; limb 1.5--2 mm long and slightly broader, emarginate or bifid, lobes entire or usually with obscure lateral teeth; coronal scales small, nearly round, obtuse or emarginate at apex. Stamens included; filaments subglabrous. Styles included. Capsule ovoid-ellipsoid, 8--10 mm. Seeds grayish brown, reniform, ca. 0.8 mm, tuberculate. Fl. Jul--Aug, fr. Aug.

Mountain grasslands; 2700--5100 m. Qinghai, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, ?Kashmir, Nepal, ?Pakistan, Sikkim].