Tufted herb, 15-60 cm high. Leaves basal to subbasal, flat to ± biconvex, 5-60 cm by 3-6 mm, reddish or rarely whitish tomentellous to glab-rescent along the margins towards the top, ± glaucous. Inflorescences equalling the leaves or nearly so; peduncle 8-5 long, glabrous, the lower part surrounded by a persistent central leaf; spathes suboval to narrowly suboval, 2*/2-5 cm by 7-12 mm, dark brown-orange, greyish when growing old, distinctly striate, with a red-hairy line on the keel to glabrous. Flowers bluish to pale mauve or purple, sometimes whitish; perigone-tube 2-2½ cm long, the outer lobes 8-16 by 6-10 mm. Staminal tube entire; anthers yellow. Ovary c. 5 mm long. Capsules 2-3 cm long; valves 3-4 mm wide. Seeds c. 2 mm, black.
Open shrubby vegetation or open forests, sedge meadows and heaths, on stony or impervious clay soils, often gregarious, 2000-3500 m. Fl. fr. Dec.-Aug. Flowers open early in the morning but become soon marcescent.
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