An annual herbaceous plant with a straight, forked-branched, obtusely ribbed, bare, leafy stem, 30-120 cm tall. The leaves are large, alternate, thin, oval or ovate, pointed at the apex, wedge-shaped narrowed at the base into a narrow-winged petiole, notched-toothed along the edge. The flowers are large, bluish, regular, singly sitting in the forks of the stem. Their calyx is swollen, within annular, pale green, 5-sided, deeply 5-parted, subsequently growing strongly. Blooms in July-August.
Occasionally found in weedy places, sometimes bred as an ornamental.
Contains the bitter substance nicandrin, alkaloids.
In folk medicine, an aqueous decoction of the whole plant is drunk for heart diseases, as a diuretic for diseases of the kidneys and bladder.