Plant 10-100 cm high, stems glabrous or pubescent below, glandular-pubescent above. Petioles up to 15 cm in lower leaves, decreasing in length towards the inflorescence. Leaf blade 3-8 cm wide, reniform, hairy, 5-fid to the middle, segments crenate or dentate incised with subobtuse teeth or short lobes. Upper leaves rather l ike large leafy bracts. Inflorescence corymbose or racemose, few-flowered. Pedicels erect, up to 15 cm long. Bracteoles near flowers, hairy, entire, trilobed or toothed. Sepals blue, veined, persistent, pubescent with soft white hairs. Upper sepal 20-30 mm long and almost as wide, spur 12-14 mm long, ± 8 mm wide at base, ± straight, saccate, lateral sepal 25-35 mm long, rounded ovate. Petals black, upper petal 14-16 m long, oblique, apex rounded-erose, sometimes ciliate or with 2 lanceolate lobules, spur 11-12 mm long. Lower petals strongly oblique, lamina 6-7 mm. Stamens 7-8 mm, glabrous. Follicles 4-5 (-7), c. 12 mm long, pubescent. Seeds more than 1 mm long, winged. Type: Kunawar, Kongho Pass, R. Inglis (LIV).

Fl. Per.: July-August.

A-6 Chitral: Barum Bar glacier, 13,000', D. Broadhead 780 (E), B-6 Chitral. Hassandin 329 (RAW), Gilgit: n.e. of Gilgit, July-August 1960, Raja Bashir s.n. (RAW), B-7 Hazara: Saiful Maluk, Shaukat Ali 53 (RAW), Musa, 18.7.1896, Inayat s.n. (RAW), B-8 Baltistan: Satpura top, R.R. Stewart & E. Nasir 2229 (RAW), Lal Pir, W. Koelz 9551 (RAW).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet.

Fairly common in N. areas of Pakistan from 4000-5300 m. A very variable species.