Phaeonychium O. Schulz

Herbs, perennial with woody rootstocks; stems densely hairy. Leaves in basal rosette, oblong-linear or spathulate-oblong, entire or minutely dentate above, bearing stellately branched hairs. Flowers several or few, on ebracteate scapes, white or with lilac tinge. Sepals erect or somewhat spreading. Petals obovate, clawed, about twice as long as sepals. Stamens 6. Lateral nectar glands horse-shoe shaped. Ovary oblong-linear, 3 - 7-ovuled in each locule, densely hairy. Fruits linear-elliptic, compressed, bilocular. Seeds 3 - 6, irregularly 1-seriate.

Himalayas, Pamir-Altai and Afghanistan; 3 species, 2 in India.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Basal leaves 1 - 2 cm long

1. Phaeonychium albiflorum

b. Basal leaves 5 - 8 cm long

2. Phaeonychium parryoides

List of Lower Taxa