Stems 40-80 cm tall, simple, often hispidulous or villous, rarely glabrous. Basal leaves ovate, base cordate. Cauline leaves sessile (lower ones sometimes with extremely short, winged petiole); blade elliptic or narrowly ovate, 3-11 × 1.5-5 cm, sparsely hispidulous, hirsute, or subglabrous, base cuneate, apex acute or shortly acuminate. Flowers often in a pseudoraceme, or inflorescences with short branches and thus in an extremely narrow panicle, very occasionally with long branches and panicle ample; pedicels less than 5 mm. Hypanthium obovoid or obconic, puberulent, verrucose-hairy, or less often glabrous; calyx lobes typically subulate, less often linear-lanceolate, 6-8 × 1-1.5 mm, margin entire. Corolla blue or purple, broadly campanulate, 1.5-2.5 cm, glabrous or hirsute at least along veins outside; lobes deltoid-ovate, ca. 1/2 as long as tube. Disk shortly tubular, 1-2.5 mm, glabrous. Style usually slightly longer (rarely shorter) than corolla. Capsule ellipsoid-globose (very rarely ellipsoid), 6-10 mm. Seeds brown-yellow, slightly compressed, ca. 1.5 mm. Fl. Aug-Oct. 2n = 34.

The diagnostic characters of the present species are cauline leaves sessile; inflorescences pseudoracemose or narrowly paniculate; pedicels short; calyx mostly hairy, and calyx lobes subulate and entire.

Meadows, forest margins, scrub, open mountain slopes, forests, among grasses, in rock crevices; below 3300 m. Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, SE Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, SE and W Henan, W Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, S Shaanxi, NW and S Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Korea; naturalized in Japan].