Epimedium pauciflorum K. C. Yen

Herbs 6–30 cm tall. Rhizome long creeping, 1–3 mm in diam.; sometimes creeping to 20–25 cm. Leaves basal and cauline, trifoliolate; leaflets ovate or suborbicular, 1.3–4.5 × 1.2–3.5 cm, abaxially sparsely or occasionally densely puberulent, adaxially glabrous when mature, base deeply cordate with rounded lobes nearly touching, those of lateral leaflets conspicuously unequal, margin coarsely serrate, apex acute or shortly acuminate. Flowering stem with 1 trifoliolate, occasionally 1 unifoliolate leaf or 2 alternate trifoliolate leaves. Inflorescence simple, racemose, few-flowered (ca. 2–6 flowers), 3–13.5 cm long; inflorescence axis and pedicels glandular or pubescent. Pedicel 1–2.3 cm long; bracts ovate, 0.8–1.4 mm. Flowers ca. 2–2.5 cm in diam. Outer sepals fall sooner, greenish, caduceus, narrowly obovate, ca. 4 × 3 mm; inner sepals white, faintly rose-tinged or pale rose, broadly lanceolate, ca. 12 × 5 mm, apex obtuse. Petals declined, white, white tinged with pale rose, rose, pale yellow, pale rose with the base purple yellow, horn-shaped, longer than inner sepals, blunt spurs ca. 15 mm long, expanded at base into a lamina 6 mm high. Stamens ca. 4 mm long; anthers yellow, ca. 2.5 mm long. Follicles oblong, 10–15 cm long; style rostriform. Seeds 4–6.

Epimediumpauciflorum is only known from the mountains of Maowen (the holotype locality, once and now divided into Maoxian, Wenchuan and Lixian) in Sichuan province, usually occurring in forest edges and weedy slopes, at high elevations approximately 1700–2600 m (Fig. 4).