Stems 5--90 cm. Leaves: blade 5--50 ´ 0.2--3 cm. Flowers: pedicels 0.8--3 cm, glandular-puberulent, rarely nearly glabrous; sepals 4--11 mm, glandular-puberulent, rarely nearly glabrous; petals bright blue to rose or magenta, 1.2--1.6 cm. 2n = 12, 24.

Flowering spring--summer (Mar--Jul). Prairies, plains, fields, thickets, woods, roadsides, and along railroads, mostly in sandy or rocky soils; Man.; Ariz., Ark., Colo., Iowa, Kans., La., Minn., Mont., Nebr., N.Mex., N.Dak., Okla., S.Dak., Tex., Utah, Wis., Wyo.