Zygophyllum pterocarpum Bunge

Herbs, perennial, 10-20 cm tall. Roots thick, woody. Stems tender, much branched, spreading. Stipules ovate to lanceolate, 1-2 mm. Leaves with 4 or 6 leaflets; petiole 4-6 mm, flat, winged; leaflet blades linear-oblong to lanceolate, 5-15 × 2-5 mm, glaucous, apex acute to obtuse. Flowers axillary, solitary or paired. Pedicel 4-8 mm, elongated after anthesis. Sepals oblong, 5-7 × ca. 4 mm, apex obtuse. Petals basally orange and apically white, oblong-obovate, 7-8 mm, base cuneate, apex obtuse. Stamens shorter than petals; appendages 1/3 as long as filaments. Capsule oblong-ovoid to ovoid, 1-2 × 0.6-1.5 cm, with narrow wings to 2-3 mm, both ends obtuse. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jun-Sep.

Gravel hills, alluvial fans, saline soil, under Haloxylon ammodendron. Gansu, W Nei Mongol, Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia (Siberia)].

Zygophyllum pterocarpum var. microcarpum Y. X. Liou.