Japan Flora: Peren­nial with coarse spreading white hairs; rhizomes short, rather tliick; stems solitary or few, erect, simple, 25-40 cm. long; leaves broadly oblanceolate, 7-15 cm. long, 15-3.5 cm. wide, acute, the radical leaves long-petiolate, the cauline sessile or narrowed to a short petiolelike base; inflorescence pedunculate, dichotomously forked, usually leafless, loosely flowered, erect; flowers blue, 1-1.5 cm. across, the pedicels 1-1.5 cm. long; calyx-segments accrescent after anthesis, narrowly ovate, 5-8 mm. long; nutlets orbicular, about 3.5 mm. across, slightly de­pressed, excavated on the dorsal face, glochidiate on the margin of the erect crown. Apr.-June. Woods in mountains.

Hok­kaido, Honshu.     

f. alba (T. Ito) H.Hara. Flowers white.

var. laevisperma (Nakai) Ohwi. Nutlets smooth, not spiny.  Honshu (Echigo Prov.).