Perennials 15-45 cm tall. Roots to 1.5 cm in diam. Stems ascending, stout, glabrous, simple. Basal leaves petiole 1-3 cm, membranous; leaf blade linear-lanceolate to linear-elliptic, 3.5-16 × 0.4-1.8 cm, base narrowed, margin scabrous, apex acuminate, veins 1-3. Stem leaves 2 or 3 pairs, smaller and with shorter petioles toward apex; petiole 1-1.5 cm; leaf blade linear to lanceolate, 1.7-5 cm × 3-6 mm, base obtuse, margin scabrous, apex acuminate, veins 1-3. Cymes axillary or terminal, forming a narrow panicle, axillary cymes sometimes on pedunclelike branches; peduncle to 5 cm. Pedicel to 1 cm. Calyx tube spathelike, 1-1.5 cm, split on 1 side to near base, membranous; lobes 1-5, subulate, 0.5-1 mm. Corolla dark blue, tubular-campanulate, 3-3.5 cm; lobes ovate-orbicular, 4-5 mm, margin entire, apex rounded; plicae ovate-triangular to truncate, 1-1.5 mm, oblique, margin entire. Stamens inserted just below middle of corolla tube; filaments 1-1.3 cm; anthers narrowly ellipsoid, 2-3 mm. Style 1.5-2 mm; stigma lobes linear. Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid to ovoid, 2-2.5 cm; gynophore to 2.2 cm. Seeds brown, ovoid-ellipsoid, 1.2-1.5 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug.
Alpine slopes, 3300-4500 metres. Along streams, grassland slopes, clearings in forests, dry steppes at elevations of 1,200-2,700 metres in northern China.
Can be grown by cuttings, divisions or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.
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