General:
Perennial herb from a thick short rhizome; stems solitary, simple, erect, 10-60 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped to oblong-elliptic, short- to long-stalked, 5-12 cm long; stem leaves opposite, reduced except at the first 2-3 nodes, short-stalked or unstalked.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of terminal and sometimes axillary clusters of 1 to several, long-stalked flowers; corollas bluish-purple to whitish with streaks of green, 10-16 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes cleft nearly to the base, each lanceolate lobe with a pair of circular fringed depressions at the base; calyces deeply 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, just over 1/2 as long as the corollas; stamens 2/3 the length of the corollas; anthers 2.5 mm long.

Fruits:
Capsules, lance-elliptic, compressed, 7-12 mm long; seeds oblong, flattened or angular, irregularly broadly winged, dark-brown, glabrous.

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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Swertia perennis var. obtusa (Ledeb.) Ledeb. ex Griseb.