Authors: Grey-Wilson
Plants form small domed, deep grey-green, sticky cushions, seldom reaching 8cm diameter in cultivation; no farina. Leaves, which form small tightly packed rosettes, oblanceolate to spathulate, untoothed, covered with short glandular hairs, without raised veins. Flowers solitary and sessile; corolla pale to mid-violet with a darker throat, the tube 7-8mm long, the limb 7mm diameter lobes broadly oval, notched. Only ever introduced once, from Northwestern Afghanistan, Maymana Province, near Belcheragh, on shaded limestone cliffs and underhangs in the Darrah Zang gorge at 1400m. One of the more difficult species to cultivate. Only a single pin-eyed clone (GW/H1308) exists in cultivation, but even the smallest plants smother themselves in bloom. Cuttings have a very low success rate. There are now a considerable number of f1 and f2 hybrids in cultivation with a wide spectrum of colours including white, terracotta, gold and olive green.
