Shrubs or small trees, ca. 5 m tall. Old branches red-brown or dark purple, branches of current year green or red-brown. Leaves usually in green branchlets of current year, sessile, narrowly elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, relatively large, 5-15 × 2-3 mm, base narrow, margin narrowly membranous, apex obtuse or acute. Racemes usually lateral, rarely terminal; bracts ovate or ovate-lanceolate, sometimes narrowly lanceolate, (3-)4-5 × 2-3 mm, margin broadly membranous, apex acuminate. Pedicels 2-3 mm. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, triangular-ovate, or ovate, (1-)2 × ca. 1 mm, ± united at base, margin broadly membranous, apex obtuse. Petals white, pink or purple-red, obovate, obovate-elliptic, or elliptic, or narrowly obovate or obovate-lanceolate, to 5-6 × 2-3 mm, base gradually narrowing, apex obtuse. Stamens slightly shorter than petals; filaments united at base; anthers oblong. Ovary conic, ca. 5 mm; stigmas capitate, sessile, 3-lobed. Capsule narrowly conic, ca. 8 mm. Seeds oblong, ca. 1 mm, apex awned; awns white villous throughout. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Sep.
Stony slopes, especially in Ladakh, 2700-4000 metres. River banks, sandy places on lake sides at elevations of 3000-4300 metres in Tibet.
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