Cyananthus dolichosceles C. Marquand; C. incanus var. decumbens Y. S. Lian; C. incanus subsp. orientalis K. K. Shrestha; C. incanus var. parvus C. Marquand; C. incanus subsp. petiolatus (Franchet) D. Y. Hong & L. M. Ma; C. neglectus C. Marquand; C. petiolatus Franchet; C. petiolatus var. pilifolius (C. Y. Wu) Y. S. Lian; C. pilifolius C. Y. Wu; C. pilifolius f. leiocalyx C. Y. Wu; C. pilifolius var. minor C. Y. Wu; C. pilifolius var. pallidocoeruleus C. Y. Wu.

Caudexes robust, branched, with persistent scales toward apex; scales ovate or lanceolate, ca. 4 mm. Stems caespitose, simple or branched below, white villous. Leaves alternate, gradually increasing in size toward apex, shortly petiolate; blade elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or oblanceolate, 4-12 × 1.5-4 mm, both surfaces white hirsute, base cuneate or attenuate, margin revolute, subentire, or sinuous, apex obtuse or acute. Flowers solitary, terminal on main stems and branches, subtended by a whorl-like aggregation of 4 or 5 leaves; pedicels 4-13 mm, hirsute. Calyx densely or sparsely hirsute with yellow-brown stiff hairs, rarely glabrous; tube narrowly ellipsoid, 5-10 mm; lobes triangular, 2-4 mm, inside densely white hirsute, margin long ciliate. Corolla dark blue or blue-purple, 25-38 mm, outside glabrous, inside densely villous at throat; lobes narrowly obovate or oblong, ca. 2/3 as long as tube. Ovary subequal to calyx tube in length at anthesis; style extended up to corolla throat. Capsule exserted beyond calyx, 5-loculicidal, 10-13 mm. Seeds pale brown, oblong. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct.

Grassy slopes, forest glades, grassy places at forest and thicket margins, alpine meadows; 2700-5300 m. S Qinghai, W Sichuan, E Xizang, NW Yunnan (Dêqên, Zhongdian) [Bhutan, NE India (Sikkim), Nepal].