Description

Herbs, perennial, 20-60(-100) cm tall, erect from creeping and rooting base; stems numerous to few, much branched especially distally. Stems 2-lined, with few black glands on lines. Leaves sessile to subsessile; blade ± narrowly elliptic to ± narrowly oblong or linear, (0.7-)1-2.5(-3) cm × 3-7(-15) mm; thickly papery, abaxially paler; laminar glands pale, scattered and sometimes black, few, dots; intramarginal glands black, spaced, interspersed with small dense pale ones; main lateral veins ca. 2-paired, tertiary reticulation lax or scarcely visible; base subcordate-amplexicaul to rather narrowly cuneate, margin entire, plane or ± recurved, apex obtuse. Inflorescence 3- to numerous-flowered, from 1-3 nodes; flowering branches curved-ascending from up to 15 or sometimes more nodes below, the whole nearly flat-topped to broadly pyramidal or cylindric; bracts and bracteoles to 4(-7) mm, narrowly lanceolate to linear, margin entire. Flowers 1.5-2.5(-3) cm in diam., stellate; buds narrowly ovoid, apex acute. Sepals free, erect in bud, recurved in fruit, narrowly oblong or lanceolate to linear, equal, 3-4(-5) × 1-1.2 mm; laminar glands pale and often a few black, in 2(-4) rows, streaks (basally) to dots; intramarginal glands black, few, or absent; margin entire, apex acute to acuminate with tip somewhat glandular; veins 3(-5). Petals golden yellow, oblong to oblong-elliptic, (0.8-)1.2-1.5 cm × 5-6 mm, 3-4 × as long as sepals, asymmetric; laminar glands black or pale, dots to lines, or often absent; intramarginal glands black or pale, distal, in sinuses when present; margin distally ± crenate. Stamens 40-60, apparently 3-fascicled, longest 6-8 mm, 0.5-0.7 × as long as petals. Ovary narrowly ovoid to ovoid-ellipsoid; styles 3, 4.5-6 mm, 1.5-2 × as long as ovary, broadly to rather narrowly spreading. Capsule ovoid-conic to ovoid, 3-6.5 × 3-5 mm, 1-1.5 × as long as sepals; valves with abaxial vittae and lateral yellowish, elongate or short vesicles. Seeds dark brown, ca. 1 mm; testa finely linear-foveolate. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Jul-Oct. 2n = 32, 48.