Erect herb, laxly branched, up to 60 cm. high; sap profuse and colourless.. Roots with terminal tuberous swellings.. Stem glabrous, bearing prominent longitudinal ridges of varying width.. Leaves sessile, amplexicaul, auriculate, the auricles often large, glabrous, chartaceous; lower leaf-blades obovate, 12–22 cm. long, 1–11 cm. wide, upper blades narrowly oblong, up to 9.5 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide.. Peduncles bearing small dense shortly-stalked glands, stalks up to 0.25 mm. long; pedicels up to 1 mm. long; bracts ovate-lanceolate, outer bract 1–3 mm. long, 0.5–2 mm. wide, inner pair minute, less than 1 mm. long, acute, surface glabrous, margins ciliate.. Calyx often prominently ribbed, 11–13 mm. long, 1–1.5 mm. wide, bearing sparse evenly distributed stalked glands; stalks thin, not rigid, often curved, (0.25–)0.5– 1.0 mm. long.. Corolla magenta or purple; tube 13–14 mm. long, 1–1.3 times length of calyx; lobes obovate, up to 6 mm. long, 3 mm. broad, acute, with shortly excurrent central nerve.
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