Biennial or annual up to 40 cm tall. Stem and branches covered with grayish appressed to subappressed hairs. Basal leaves linear-lanceolate, 20-60 x 4-8 mm, covered on both surfaces with subappressed and appressed hairs. Cauline leaves similar but smaller and narrower; fruiting pedicels erect, 1.5-3 mm long. Calyx lobes narrow oblong, c. 2-3 mm long, up to 4 mm in fruit. Corolla blue, tube c. 2 mm long, limb flat, 3-5 mm broad. Nutlets 3-4 mm long, ovoid, margin with 2 rows of appendages; inner (marginal) row with appendages 1-2 mm long, the outer row smaller. Middle dorsal area tuberculate, usually keeled. Sides of nutlets tuberculate. Style exceeding the nutlet length.

Fl. Per.: May-June.

Syntypes: Crimea, Karassubasar; Caucasus, Mosdok, Marshall von berstein).

Distribution: Turkey, Syria, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, URSS, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir.

A widespread and variable species. According to Kazmi (l.c. 509) our plant is var. cariensis which differs from the type variety in smaller corolla breadth (3-5 mm) and nutlets with 2-seriate marginal appendages-in which the outer series is much shorter than the inner series of appendages