General:
Perennial herb from a branching woody stem-base; stems several, clustered, ascending to erect, 10-40 cm tall, usually smooth below, glandular-hairy in the inflorescence.

Leaves:
Opposite, irregularly and obscurely saw-toothed or entire, bright green, thick and firm, mostly smooth; basal leaves lanceolate to oval or spoon-shaped, 4-10 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, stalked; stem leaves well developed, lance-oblong, 2-5 cm long, unstalked.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a leafy-bracted, rather narrow, terminal cluster of 4 to 8 whorls of stalked flowers; corollas blue-violet to light blue, tubular, 1.2-2 cm long, hairy on the outside, hairy inside at the throat, 2-lipped, the lower lip a bit longer than the upper; calyces 3-6 mm long, somewhat glandular-hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes nearly distinct, broadly lanceolate to egg-shaped, slightly papery-margined, pointy-tipped; fertile stamens 4, the anthers smooth except for the often bristle-toothed sutures; sterile stamen golden-bearded for less than half its length toward the scarcely expanded tip.

Fruits:
Capsules, 5-7 mm long; seeds numerous, 0.8-1.5 mm long.

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Flower Colour:
Blue

Blooming Period:
Summer

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall

Source:  The USDA