The leaves are longer than wide, with a hastate or Christmas-tree pattern in green and silver.

The spring-blooming flowers with five reflexed, upswept petals, are fragrant and magenta-purple or pink, with a darker blotch and a white zone at the end of the nose (larger than that of C. coum).

After flowering, a pod develops on a coiled stem that rests on the ground, releasing its seeds directly on to the soil surface.

[1] This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit[2] (confirmed 2017).

It is moderately hardy and should therefore be planted preferably in a sheltered place or in cold greenhouse.