General:
Perennial slightly tufted herb from a fibrous root; stems 1 or 2, simple or often branched, flat, 2-winged, 10-40 cm tall.

Leaves:
Mostly basal, the blades several, linear, 10-30 cm long, 2-5.5 mm wide, sheathing, the margins entire to fine-toothed, the tips pointed; stem leaves 1 or few at nodes, similar to basal.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of (1) 2 to 4 (5) showy, erect to nodding flowers on slender, smooth, 2- to 2.5-cm long stalks; flowers pale blue to more often deep violet-purple, of 6 distinct, narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate segments, these similar, 1.1-1.6 cm long, rounded to somewhat blunt, abruptly bristle-tipped, the inflated tubes below, 1-2 mm long; bracts 2, unequal, the outer one usually exceeding the flowers; filaments fused about 1/3 their length; anthers 1.2-1.7 mm long, pale yellow.

Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped to globe-shaped, (5) 6-8 (9) mm long; seeds numerous, globe-shaped to angled, dark brown to black, 1.2-1.5 (1.7) mm wide.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia