Gaultheria heteromera R. C. Fang

Shrubs procumbent, 5–20 cm tall. Twigs terete, slender, densely puberulous and with long brown hairs. Leaves towards the ends of branches; petiole ca. 1 mm, glabrous or sparsely hirtellous; leaf blade drying brown on both surfaces, elliptic, 0.8–1.7(–2.3) × 0.6–1 cm, papery, glabrous or abaxially sparsely hirtellous, secondary veins 3 pairs, fine veins raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, base broadly cuneate, margin dentate, apex obtuse to acute, mucronulate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary at apices of twigs, shortly racemose, 3–6 mm, 1–4-flowered, puberulous; bracts broadly ovate, 1.5–2 mm, glabrous. Pedicel 4–6 mm, puberulous; bracteoles 1 pair, towards middle of pedicel, ovate, 1–1.5 mm, glabrous. Flowers 4-merous. Calyx glabrous; lobes triangular-ovate, 2.5–3 mm. Corolla white, globose-urceolate, ca. 4 mm, abaxially glabrous; lobes reflexed, very short. Stamens 8 or 9; filaments ca. 1 mm, swollen, glabrous, papillate; anthers ca. 1 mm, thecae 2-awned. Ovary hispidulous. Fruit unknown. Fl. Jul–Aug.

SE Xizang (Mêdog).

Alpine thickets, meadows; ca. 3900 m.