Authors: Douglas  

Botanical Description

Stems 5-40cm tall, slender, the plant glabrous throughout. Leaves entire, basal ones up to 10cm long in var. procerus. Inflorescence of very dense verticillasters, flowers deep blue-purple to ochroleucous or even white, 6-11mm long and very narrow. Dry meadows and open or timbered slopes from the foothills to above timberline. Alaska and the Yukon to California, Colorado, and Saskatchewan. Easily grown. P.p. var. procerus has the basal rosette poorly developed, plants mostly 20-40cm tall. Corolla blue, usually more than one verticillaster per stem. Foothills to moderate elevations, less often at high elevations. P.p. var. brachyanthus is mostly montane to subalpine, 15-30cm tall, usually more than one verticillaster; flowers blue. Cascade Range of Oregon and California, and apparently also in the Wallowa Mts. of Oregon. P.p. var. formosus is a dwarf, subalpine and alpine plant, mostly 5-12cm tall, with relatively short, broad basal leaves, the inflorescence commonly reduced to one verticillaster. Flowers blue. Wallowa and Strawberry Mts. of Oregon and in the mountains of California and Nevada. P.p. var. aberrans forms plants 10-35cm tall with flowers 6-8mm long. Endemic to the Utah Plateaux. P.p. var. modestus forms plants 10-35mm tall with flowers, 7.5-11mm long. Endemic to the east Humboldt and Ruby Mts. of Nevada. P.p. var. tolmiei has basal rosettes well developed. Plants mostly 5-15cm tall, usually with less than three verticillasters per stem. Leaves averaging shorter and broader than in var. procerus. Flowers blue or ochroleucous. Moderate to high elevations in the Cascade and Olympic Mts. of Washington, extending well into British Columbia. Often found in more exposed and rocky habitats than var.

procerus.