Roots carrot-shaped, up to 1.2 cm in diam. Caudexes robust, branched, covered with persistent scales toward apex; scales straw-colored, elliptic to lanceolate. Stems caespitose, ascending or sprawling, 10-20 cm, usually simple, hispidulous. Leaves alternate, gradually increasing in size toward apex, subsessile; blade elliptic, ovate-lanceolate, lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, 7-16 × 2-6 mm, both surfaces hispidulous, base rounded, obtuse, or cuneate, margin entire or shallowly sinuous above middle. Flowers solitary, terminal; pedicels 1.2-4 cm, brown-or black villous. Calyx densely brown-black hirsute; tube cylindrical, 9-15 × 5-10 mm; lobes lanceolate-triangular, 2/5-1/2 as long as tube. Corolla purple-blue, funnelform-campanulate, 2.5-4.5 cm, throat glabrous or sparsely villous; lobes suborbicular, ca. 1/2 as long as tube, apex with brown hirsute tuft. Ovary subequal to calyx in length; style extending up to corolla throat; stigma 5-fid. Fl. Aug-Sep.