Perennial; rhizome divided into creeping branches. Stems several, ascendent, 40—45 cm high, unbranched or with a single branch, glabrous below, strigose with short re-trorse hairs in the inflorescence. Apart from the stems there are sterile rosettes of leaves. Leaves lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, acute, on the upper side with numerous, on the lower side with a few groups of mineralized cells very rarely bearing short hairs, ciliate in the margins; leaves of basal rosettes stalked, petiole 3-5 cm long, lamina 5-7 by 1-1.8 cm; lower stem leaves already dry at flowering time, middle ones 3-6 by 0.7-1.4 cm with narrowing base, upper ones 1.8-3 by 0.7-1 cm. Inflorescence bifurcate with erect branches or simple, loose, 1.5-8 cm long, composed of only 7-11 flowers, ebracteate; pedicels 4-6 mm long, recurved in fruit. Calyx 2 mm long in flower, 4 mm in fruit, crispulate hairy at the very base, lobes 1.3 mm wide in flower, up to 2 mm wide in fruit, subobtuse, with reticulate veins, ciliate at margins. Corolla mauve in bud, then deep blue, salver-shaped, 4-5 mm long, 8-9 mm in diam., glabrous, tube about as long as calyx or a little shorter, lobes obovate, 3-3.5 mm long, with reticulate veins; fornices quadrate, emarginate, papillate at margin. Stamens: filaments distinct, 0.2 mm long, anthers oblong to ovate-oblong, 0.8 mm long, inserted below fornices. Pistil: style 2.5 mm long in fruit, without stigma. Nutlets ovate in outline, 4-4.5 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, with dense glochids ventrally and at margin and loosely arranged glochids on the flat dorsal disc.
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