Perennial (flowering in first year) with the stems often deciduous, trailing or erect, clustered from a woody crown, 20-50 cm high, with few side branches. Stems terete or ridged, glabrous, scabrid or pubescent. Leaves alternate, very variable, linear to ovate, 1-9 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide, apex acute to obtuse, base attenuate into a petiole or petiole, soft, glabrous, puberulous to sericeous, margin serrate to more or less entire, the teeth gland-tipped (if teeth repressed, glands still persist); stipules small, subulate, 0.5-2 mm, gland-tipped. Flowers on long to short, thin pedicels; size of flower variable. Sepals free, subequal, linear-acuminate, to ovate-acuminate, 3-6 mm long, membranous, keeled, somewhat pubescent. Petals pink to bluish or violet; anterior much exceeding other 2 pairs in length, 5-20 mm long with a narrow claw about as long as the quadrate, emarginate lamina, at the base with a broad saccate bulge protruding from between the lower sepals; lateral petals asymmetrical, triangular, curved upwards, about half as long as anterior petal; posterior petals smaller and narrower. Stamens short, the filaments (and sometimes connective) of the 2 anterior tomentose, producing short caudate hairy appendages which descend into the pouch of the anterior petal; anthers connivent, connective produced into an ovate petaloid apical appendage. ovary ovoid, style terete, stigma capitate. Capsule globose to ovoid, about 6-10 mm long, smoth with c. 3-4 seeds ripening on each placenta; seed fusiform to ovoid, apex and base discoid, c. 1.5 mm long, longitudinally ribbed, glabrous shiny, yellow to white, testa hygroscopic.
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Perennial herb or small shrub to 60 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. Leaves linear to lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 16–60 mm long, 1–7 mm wide, entire or crenate, glabrous or pubescent with short erect hairs, margin revolute, venation obscure; stipules acuminate, to 4 mm long, hairy at base. Flowers on peduncles c. 4 mm long; pedicel 2–7 mm long; bracts triangular. Sepals lanceolate, acute, 2.5–3 mm long, carinate, glabrous or keel densely hair. Petals mauve to blue, the anterior broadly spathulate, 8–15 mm long, 6–7 mm wide; 2 posterior petals linear-oblong, 3–4 mm long; lateral pair lanceolate-falcate, 4.5–5.5 mm long. Anterior 2 filaments with penicillate nectaries. Capsule 4–9 mm long. Seeds 5–12, ribbed, pitted between ribs, cream.
Perennial herb, 200-500 mm tall. Anterior petal 5-20 mm long, with basal pouch protruding from between anterior sepals. Capsule smooth, glabrous; seed fusiform to ovoid, longitudinally ribbed. Flowers pink to bluish or violet.
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