It is native to western North America from Alaska and Yukon to Arizona and New Mexico, where it can be found in many types of mountain habitat, including alpine talus and rock cracks at high elevations.

It is a perennial herb producing a clump of several erect stem approaching a maximum height of 30 centimeters.

The herbage is lightly hairy, densely glandular, sticky, and strongly scented, the odor reminiscent of skunk.

The showy inflorescence is a dense elongated or headlike cluster of bell-shaped flowers each just under a centimeter wide.

The flower is deep to bright or pale blue to nearly white with a yellow throat.