Flower stems 20-30 cm. Leaves biternate, nearly 20 cm long. Flowers 2 to 5, large, 3-5 cm diam., bright violet-blue or sky-blue. V - early spring to late autumn. Spring leaves appear Aprilwith later growing July. Young leaves can persist through the winter. Fl - May. Fr - July. P - by seed. Flower the year after sowing. Requires partial shade. Z 4.

Siberia (Altay, Sayans, Transbaykalia), Central Asia (Tarbagatay, Tien Shan), northwestern China and Mongolia. Alpine meadows, more rarely in forest zone, along stream-banks and on rocks.