河边龙胆 he bian long dan

Annuals 2-8 cm tall. Stem erect, fastigiate branched from middle with branches crowded into a capitulum, papillate. Leaves overlapping, crowded; petiole tube 1-1.5 mm; leaf blade spatulate to orbicular-spatulate, 5-7 × 1.2-7 mm, narrowed toward stem apex, margin of lower leaves cartilaginous and upper leaves narrowly membranous, apex rounded and mucronate, midvein prominent. Flowers many. Pedicel 2-8 mm, surrounded by upper leaves, papillate. Calyx narrowly obconic, 6.5-8 mm; lobes lanceolate to ovate, 1.2-1.5 mm, margin membranous and smooth, apex obtuse and mucronate, midvein prominent. Corolla blue, funnelform, 1-1.2 cm; lobes ovate, 2.5-3 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse; plicae ovate, 1.5-2 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse. Stamens inserted at middle of corolla tube, equal; filaments 2.5-3 mm; anthers ellipsoid, 1-1.3 mm. Style 1.5-2 mm; stigma lobes oblong. Capsules obovoid, 3-3.5 mm; gynophore to 8 mm. Seeds brown, ellipsoid, 0.8-1 mm. Fl. and fr. Apr-May.

River banks, sandy grasslands; 600-1200 m. Gansu, Shanxi, Xinjiang [Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia (Siberia); SW Asia].