Herbs 10–21 cm tall. Rhizome creeping, long, slender, 0.2–0.8 mm in diam., branched, with sparse fine roots. Aerial stems ascending, short, usually ca. 0.5 cm, rarely to 2 cm. Leaves appearing radical, 1–3(–6), in 1 or 2 subverticils, long petiolate; leaf blade pale green abaxially, deep green with paler or white veins adaxially, reniform, 1–3 × 1.5–4 cm, base cordate, often with overlapping margins, margin crenulate or obsoletely serrulate, apex rounded or shallowly emarginate. Scapes erect, but nodding earlier, 7–21 cm tall, slender, somewhat angled, glabrous, with 2–4 minute lanceolate or broadly linear or oblanceolate scales at base and sometimes one minute scale near middle; raceme rather sparsely 1–3(–6)-flowered, 1.8–3.5(–5) cm. Pedicel 3–8 mm; bracts linear-lanceolate, 1–2 mm. Flowers drooping, zygomorphic, 1(–1.5) mm in diam. Sepals suborbicular to depressed-triangular, 1–1.5 × 1.4–2 mm, apex obtuse to rounded. Petals white to greenish, sometimes becoming black when dry, obovate, 5–7 × 3–5.5 mm. Filaments curved upward; anthers creamy white, 2–4 mm, prolonged into terminal tubules, opening by small terminal pores, terminal tubules orange-yellow. Style exserted, 5–10 mm, curved, slightly dilated at apex into a ring; stigma with a collar and 5 erect cylindric lobes. Capsules 5–7 mm in diam. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.
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