Perennial of the Polemoniaceae family, Polemonium caeruleum is widely spread across Europe and temperate Asia, from wet meadows and woodland edges to rocky slopes at altitudes, exceeding 2,000 meters in the mountain ranges of Central Asia. The white-flowered form occurs spontaneously within wild populations, the type being blue-violet flowers.
The plant forms upright clumps of 40 to 60 cm, bearing finely divided foliage with numerous lanceolate leaflets arranged like a ladder along the petiole — this characteristic pinnate habit has given the genus the popular English name of Jacob's ladder. The stems are slender and slightly loose.
The open cup-shaped flowers, pure white with bright orange anthers, are gathered in airy terminal clusters. In its natural habitat, flowering extends from June to August; in cultivation, it can begin as early as May-June.
It prefers a cool, well-drained, humus-rich soil, in a sunny to semi-shaded position. It tolerates cold but dreads heavy and wet soils in winter.