Herbs, 15-30 cm tall. Rhizomes 7-12 mm in diam. Lateral roots fascicled; root crown without remnants of old petioles. Stems 1 or 2, stout, ascending, longer than leaves. Basal leaves numerous, rosulate; petiole 4-7 cm, base sheathlike; leaf blade ovate to ovate-oblong, 4-9 cm, subleathery when dry, margin irregularly serrate. Stem leaves numerous, subsessile, smaller than basal leaves. Spikes to 10 cm, slender, often recurved; bracts ovate. Calyx wide and large, 1-2 X as long as bract, enclosing corolla; lobes ovate-triangular to suborbicular. Corolla blue-purple, 5-8 mm; tube slightly bowed, nearly as long as limb; lower lip lobes 3, lanceolate; upper lip unlobed, obovate-orbicular, apex obtuse to praemorse. Filaments adnate to base of upper corolla lip margin. Style exserted; stigma 2-lobed. Fl. Aug-Sep.

Open areas in alpine scrub, alpine grassland; 4600-5300 m. Xizang (Yadong Xian) [Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim].