Perennial or shrubby herb with branched woody rootstock; stems prostrate, to 15 cm long, sparsely minutely puberulous to puberulous when young. Leaves usually reddish to purplish tinged on midrib and edges, uniformly minutely scabrid-puberulous on both sides with bulbous-based hairs, often puberulous along midrib; lamina elliptic to obovate or narrowly so, largest (2.5-)3.7-10(-13) x (0.8-) 1-1.8 cm; margin with 12-35 fine forwardly directed (rarely spreading) teeth. Spikes 2-7(-8.5) cm long, 4-20-flowered; peduncle 5-12 mm long with 3-5 pairs of gradually larger sterile bracts; fertile bracts greenish to brownish, often tinged reddish, uniformly puberulous and with longer pubescent hairs along veins, long-ciliate, elliptic to obovate or broadly so, 19-30 x 8-14 mm of which the recurved spinose triangular tip 5-10(-14) mm, on each side with 4-8 lateral teeth of which the longest 4-8 mm. Bracteoles 13-20 x 1-2 mm, linear-lanceolate with widened base, cuspidate. Sepals uniformly puberulous or sparsely so and often with longer hairs along veins, conspicuously ciliate; dorsal 15-21 mm long, 5(-7)-veined from base, ovate-elliptic, slightly ligulate or narrowing gradually to an acute 1-3-toothed apex, apical part becoming scarious; ventral 11-16 mm long, 5-7-veined from base, veins diverging towards apex, oblong-elliptic, ligulate or narrowing gradually to a truncate apex with two triangular mucronate teeth 1-3(-4) mm long, often with 1-2 small additional central teeth; lateral 6-9 mm long. Corolla pale blue to blue or mauve with darker veins, 20-28 mm long of which the tube 3-5 mm; limb obovate-spathulate, 9-16 mm wide, central lobe about as long as wide, truncate, irregularly toothed, narrowed at base; callus not or slightly ribbed; filaments 6-9 mm long, sparsely glandular; appendage 3-5.5 mm long, oblong, narrowing slightly to the broadly rounded apex; anthers 3.5-5.5 mm long. Capsule 8-9 mm long; seed 5-6 x 3.5-4.5 mm.
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Prostrate, perennial herb. Stems unarmed. Leaves oblanceolate, attenuate, margin setaceo-serrulate. Spikes elongate. Lowest sterile bracts similar to fertile ones but reduced in size; fertile bracts ovate, margins with short, hard bristles. Flowers blue.