Pleione bulbocodioides var. bulbocodioides is a very variable orchid with several local forms that differ in the shape and size of flowers and pseudobulbs as well as in preference for growing sites. Many forms grow terrestrial, the pseudobulbs fully buried in heavy clayey soil, while others grow lithophytically with the root firmly attached in shallow humus on rocks, or they grow on moist rock walls in a mere layer of thin moss, from which the plants can be lifted easily. The typical variety P.bulbocodioides var. bulbocodioides grows in Huanglong, between 1750-1850m, on rocks above streams and terrestrial on clayey banks. The color varies from deep to light magenta in all parts,including the inside of the lip. The lip callus is undulated to very slightly notched towards the apex. The showy flower, arising on a short scape from the pseudobulb before the single deciduous leaf appears, has a diameter of 6-9cm. The leaf expands after flowering and reaches a length of 10-15 cm.

         Flowering: mid April-early May.

        独蒜兰（ 半附生草本。假鳞茎卵形至卵状圆锥形，上端有明显的颈，全长1-2.5厘米，直径1-2厘米，顶端具1枚叶。叶在花期尚幼嫩，长成后狭椭圆状披针形或近倒披针形，纸质，长10-25厘米，宽2-5.8厘米，先端通常渐尖，基部渐狭成柄；叶柄长2-6.5厘米。花葶从无叶的老假鳞茎基部发出，直立，长7-20厘米，下半部包藏在3枚膜质的圆筒状鞘内，顶端具1 (-2)花；花苞片线状长圆形，长（2-) 3-4厘米，明显长于花梗和子房，先端钝；花梗和子房长1-2.5厘米；花粉红色至淡紫色，唇瓣上有深色斑；中萼片近倒披针形，长3.5-5厘米，宽7-9毫米，先端急尖或钝；侧萼片稍斜歪，狭椭圆形或长圆状倒披针形，与中萼片等长，常略宽；花瓣倒披针形，稍斜歪，长3.5- 5厘米，宽4-7毫米；唇瓣轮廓为倒卵形或宽倒卵形，长3.5-4.5厘米，宽3-4厘米，不明显3裂，上部边缘撕裂状，基部楔形并多少贴生于蕊柱上，通常具4-5条褶片；褶片啮蚀状，高可达1-1.5毫米，向基部渐狭直至消失；中央褶片常较短而宽，有时不存在；蕊柱长2.7-4厘米，多少弧曲，两侧具翅；翅自中部以下甚狭，向上渐宽，在顶端围绕蕊柱，宽达6-7毫米，有不规则齿缺。蒴果近长圆形，长2.7-3.5厘米。花期4-6月。

        产陕西南部、甘肃南部、安徽、湖北、湖南、广东北部、广西北部、四川、贵州、云南西北部和西藏东南部。生于常绿阔叶林下或灌木林缘腐植质丰富的土壤上或苔藓覆盖的岩石上，海拔900-3600米。模式标本采自四川宝兴。