Authors:
Tuberous perennial forming small colonies of stemless rosettes or slightly taller branching plants. Leaves pinnate, 6-19cm by 2.5-6cm, coarsely downy to rarely glabrous. Inflorescences subsessile composed of three to six violet blue to dark purple flowers l-2cm in diameter, summer. Bolivia and Peru to north-western Argentina, in dryish alpine habitats and field borders. Tends to get leggy in cultivation and as a short day plant may die before producing tubers in the autumn. Best in the alpine house though frost hardy.
