Herbs perennial, efarinose, with a short comparatively stout rhizome, basally with brown paleaceous bud-scales at anthesis. Leaves forming a spreading rosette, to 30 cm in diam.; leaf blade oblong-elliptic to elliptic-obovate, 12--20 X 6--9 cm, apex rounded, tapering from middle into a very short or almost obsolete winged petiole, irregularly crenate-dentate, papery when dry, +/-bullate on margin and covered with minute glandular hairs when just unfolded from resting buds, soon glabrate, smooth and quite glabrous on both surfaces when mature; lateral veins 11--13 pairs, plane adaxially, raised abaxially, subparallel, angled to midvein ca. 65°, secondary veins obscure on both surfaces. Scapes 13--20 cm, 1 or 2 per plant, glabrous, carrying a terminal umbel of 5--11 flowers; bracts lanceolate, 5--8 mm, brown, paleaceous, glabrous; pedicels 1--1.5 cm, elongated to 2.5 cm in fruit, sparsely glandular-puberulent. Flowers heteromorphic; calyx narrowly campanulate, 10--12 mm, glandular-puberulent, 5-veined, split to one-third of its length; lobes ovate, ca. 3.5 mm wide, apex acute; corolla funnel-shaped, lavender-blue, exannulate. Thrum flower: corolla tube ca. 13 mm, cylindrical, ampliate above insertion of stamens; limb 1.8--2.5 cm across; lobes obovate, 9 X 8 mm, apex emarginate; stamens inserted at apex of corolla tube; filaments ca. 1.5 mm; anthers linear, ca. 2 mm; style 5--6 mm; stigma capitate. Capsule subglobose, included in calyx tube.
Home