A perennial bulbiferous herb. Bulb of 2 or 3 scales, subglobose or ovoid, 1-2 cm in diam. Stem 15-35 cm, often covered with a waxlike layer near base. Leaves 3-5, closely arranged in middle or distal part of stem, alternate or subopposite; leaf blade ovate or ovate-elliptic, 2-7 × 1-3 cm, apex obtuse or rounded. Inflorescence 1-flowered. Flower campanulate; pedicel long. Tepals yellowish, spotted or tessellated with reddish brown, narrowly elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 3.2-4.5 × 1.2-1.8 cm; nectaries inconspicuous. Stamens 1.6-2.2 cm; filaments glabrous; anthers basifixed. Style 3-lobed; lobes 0.5-4 mm. Capsule narrowly winged, ± enclosed by persistent tepals.

Antitussive

Flora of China

The dried bulb is used in the treatment of coughs with scanty sputum and dry throat, scrofula, sores, and abscesses.

Jing-Nuan Wu. An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica. P: 320, Oxford University Press, Inc.2005.