Herb; rootstock and lower leaves unknown; young stems hispid with adpressed upwardly directed hairs, older ones slender, distinctly woody, glabrous, with a dark brown epidermis.. Stem-leaves narrowly elliptic, 2–9 cm. long, 0.5–2.2 cm. wide, acute, cuneate or narrowly attenuate at the base, scabrid above with short adpressed white hairs from cystolith spots and similar hairs but no spots beneath; apparent petiole 0–1 cm. long.. Cymes few-flowered, terminal and on upper axillary shoots, 4–15 cm. long, usually one flower well below the rest close to upper node; pedicels at first ± 5 mm. long, lengthening to 3.2 cm., longest in the lowermost flower.. Sepals ± oblong-lanceolate at first, ± 3 mm. long, becoming lanceolate, 4–5 mm. long, 0.9–1.7 mm. wide, ± narrowly rounded or acute, hispid outside, the hairs at base longer and from cystolith spots.. Corolla blue; tube 2 mm. long; lobes ± round, 2.5 mm. long and wide; bosses ± 1 mm. wide; anthers 0.7 mm. long; style 1 mm. long lengthening to 2 mm. in fruit.. Fruits ± 9 mm. wide, the nutlets rounded-ovate, contracted to the base, ± 4 mm. long and wide, densely glochidiate on base and sides but much sparser on the faces although not confined to a median line; scar of attachment ± obtriangular, 1.5 mm. long, continuing at base into a portion of the split style.. Fig. 32/3.
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