Dontostemon elegans Maxim.

Herbs perennial, 15-50 cm tall, eglandular, with whitish woody base. Stems ascending, branched basally, glabrous. Middle cauline leaves sessile, linear to oblanceolate-linear, 2-5 cm × 3-5 mm, somewhat fleshy, subleathery, glabrous or sparsely pilose with simple trichomes to 1 mm, base attenuate, margin entire, apex obtuse to subacute. Fruiting pedicels divaricate, straight or slightly recurved, thick, 3-6 mm, glabrous. Sepals oblong or oblong-linear, 5-6 × 1-1.5 mm, sparsely pubescent with simple trichomes. Petals lilac, obovate, 9-12 × 2.5-4 mm, apex obtuse; claw 5-7 mm. Filaments of median stamens 6-8 mm, united; filaments of lateral stamens 4-6 mm; anthers oblong, 1.2-1.8 mm, apiculate. Ovules 32-60 per ovary. Fruit 3-5 cm × 2-2.5 mm, glabrous, strongly twisted, torulose, flattened, midvein prominent; style to 0.5 mm; stigma lobed. Seeds brown, oblong, ca. 1.5-1.9 × 0.9-1.1 mm, margined; cotyledons accumbent. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Jun-Aug.

Gansu, Nei Mongol, Xinjiang [Mongolia, Russia].

Deserts, dry sandy river beds; 1000-1500 m.

Dontostemon elegans var. semiamplexicaulis (H. L. Yang) H. L. Yang & M. S. Yan; D. semiamplexicaulis H. L. Yang.