Herbs annual or biennial, 15-30 cm tall. Stems erect, much branched, with spreading short hairs. Basal leaves becoming withered, petiolate, spatulate to oblanceolate; stem leaves sessile, oblanceolate-linear to linear, 1-3.5 cm × 2-4 mm, finely appressed pubescent, base cuneate, apex obtuse. Inflorescences racemose; bracts leaflike. Pedicel 3-10 mm, sparsely pubescent, erect at anthesis, ascending to slightly curved in fruit. Flowers widely spaced. Calyx lobes erect at anthesis, mostly divaricate in fruit, ovate to ovate-oblong, 1-2.5 mm, appressed pubescent outside, sparsely short pubescent inside. Corolla blue, campanulate-tubular; tube 1-1.2 mm; appendages lunate; lobes ovate to suborbicular, 1-1.2 mm. Anthers ovate. Gynobase low fastigiate, 0.5-0.7 mm. Nutlets dorsiventrally compressed, sparsely pubescent, 2-2.5 × ca. 1 mm excluding marginal glochids, adaxially protruding; abaxially slightly convex, finely tuberculate; marginal glochids needlelike, with separate bases; attachment scar at middle adaxially.

* Ravines, slopes, marshes; 2200-2400 m. Gansu, Qinghai (Huangyuan Xian).