General: Perennial herb from fibrous roots and short rhizome, spreading-hairy throughout; stems simple or much-branched, 15-45 cm tall.
Leaves: Lower leaves in basal rosette, somewhat stalked, egg- or spoon-shaped; stem leaves lanceolate to oblong, unstalked, 5-12 cm long, 2-12 mm wide, entire, alternate.
Flowers: Several to many in lax, coiled, elongating, bractless, terminal clusters; fruiting stalks spreading, 1 1/2 to 2 times as long as the calyces; petals bright blue, rarely white, fused at base into a tube that spreads flat (5-10 mm wide) at the top to 5 lobes, with 5 yellow bulges at the throat; fruiting calyces 3-5 mm long, with short, curly and hooked hairs on the sepal tube.
Fruits: Nutlets 4, clustered, egg-shaped, 1.5-2 mm long, dark brown, smooth, shining.
Mesic grasslands, shrublands, disturbed areas and open forests in the lowland, steppe and lower montane zones; frequent in S BC, rare elsewhere; introduced from Europe.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
