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Herbs, perennial, with long horizontal rhizomes or with short caudexes and thickened ± fleshy roots; less often annual. Basal leaves sometimes rosulate; cauline leaves all alternate. Flowers solitary and terminal, or in cymes; cymes paniculate or capitellate, later subtended by an involucre. Calyx adnate to ovary; lobes 5, sometimes with an appendage between lobes. Corolla campanulate, tubular-campanulate, or funnelform, sometimes subrotate, 5-lobed. Filaments dilated; anthers coherent or rarely connate. Disk absent. Ovary inferior, 3-5-locular. Capsules dehiscent by lateral, upper or lower pores, crowned by persistent calyx lobes. Seeds numerous, ellipsoid, smooth.
Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, rarely subshrubs, glabrous or hairy. Leaves alternate, simple. Inflorescences panicle-, raceme-, spike-or head-like, or flowers solitary. Calyx-lobes usually 5, sometimes with reflexed appendages in between them. Corolla campanulate to almost rotate or cylindrical, ± deeply 5-lobed. Stamens 5, free; filaments usually dilated and ciliate at the base. Ovary ± inferior, 3–5-locular; ovules numerous; style eglandular, with pollen-collecting hairs in the upper part, lower part glabrous or hairy; lobes 3–5. Capsule dehiscing by lateral pores or valves. Seeds numerous, ± elliptic in outline.
Sep 5; cor regular, campanulate or funnelform to rotate, valvate in bud, 5-lobed, in our sp. blue to violet or white; stamens attached to the very base of the cor; filaments widened at base; anthers distinct; ovary 3-or 5-locular with numerous ovules and elongate style; fr short, usually strongly ribbed, opening by 3 or 5 lateral pores. 300, chiefly N. Temp. and Arctic.
