[1] It is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in meadows and other mountain habitat.

It is a perennial herb producing a single stem which grows erect and often exceeds a meter in height.

The basal leaves have oval or spoon-shaped blades up to 30 centimeters long by 10 wide.

The inflorescence is a dense panicle atop the stem, sometimes interrupted into a series of clusters of flowers.

Each flower has a corolla of four pointed lobes each roughly a centimeter long.