Plants perennial. Inflorescences never glandular. Petals 1.3-1.5 times as long as sepals. Capsules 11-17 mm. Seeds 0.9-1.2 mm; tubercles coarse. 2n = 144 (Europe).

Flowering summer. Grassy areas, scrub; 0-100 m; Greenland; Europe.

Subspecies fontanum is widespread in the mountains of northern and central Europe.