Medium to tall hairy plant to 1 metre tall, sometimes more. Stems erect, branched or unbranched, bristly, sharply angled, usually reddish. Leaves rough, paler beneath, long pointed, irregularly toothed, the upper leaves unstalked. Flowers violet blue or pale blue, 30 to 50 mm long, ascending to horizontal bells borne in leafy racemes.

Woodland margins, hedgerows and scrub.

July to September.

Perennial

Scattered throughout most of Britain as far north as Perth.

Uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 5 of the 617 tetrads.