Taproot short. Flowering stems about 20-30 cm. Leaves mostly in a rosette, long petiolate, biternate, loosely pubescent above, glaucous beneath. Flowering shoots leafless, with 1 to 5 flowers that are large, nodding, blue or lilac. V- from April, leaves remain green until late autumn, young leaves can persist through the winter. Fl - May (St Petersburg), for 2-3 weeks. Fr - July.. P - by seed. Requires semi-shade. Flowers the year after sowing. Z 5 (4).

Far East (Sakhalin, Kuril Islands) and northern Japan. Mountain forests, cliffs.