Shrubs to 4 m high; stems subquadrangular in the younger portions, terete on the older portions, strigose to puberulous. Leaves oblanceolate to 28 cm long and 8 cm wide, glabrous above but strigose to pilose along the costa and the veins, glabrous to sparingly pilose beneath but strigose to pilose at the veins, apically acuminate and basally attenuate, the margins faintly crenate to entire; petioles to ca. 1 cm long, strigose to densely pilose. Inflorescences in terminal and subterminal spikes, the spikes to 12 cm long and 12 mm wide; rachis puberu-bous; bracts red, imbricate, obovate, to 10 mm long, 6 mm wide, lowermost bracts apically acute, other bracts obtuse and apiculate, the costa and the nerves prominent and deliquescent, the surface of the bracts with two sublateral clusters of orbicular, shiny glands at the midregion, 5-17 glands per cluster, the glands ca. 0.5 mm in diameter, surface of lowermost bracts strigose, upper bracts puberu-bous, the margins ciliate, densely so near the apex; bracteoles lanceolate, 5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, keeled, pubeirLlous; peduncles to 6 cm long, mostly 1-2 cm long, strigose. Flowers with the calyx enclosed by a bract, the calyx 5-merous, all segments lanceolate, puberulous and prominently striate nerved, the anterior segments 6.5 mm long, 1.8 mm wide, the lateral segments 6 mm long, 1.2 mm wide, the posterior segment 7.5 mm long, 3 mm wide; corolla rose pink to red, bilabiate, the tube 4.5 cm long, 2.5 mm wide at base, 7 mm wide at the mouth, puberulous outside, glabrous inside, the upper lip erect, to 1.8 cm long, 9 mm wide, 2-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, 12 mm long, 5 mm wide at base, the apex acuminate and slightly keeled, the lower lip spreading, the middle lobe lanceo-late, 23 mm long, 7.5 mm wide, keeled, acuminate, the lateral lobes triangular in free portion, attached on one side to the upper lip, acute, the free portion to 1.0 mm long, 1.0 mm wide at base; stamens exserted to just below the tip of the upper lip. Capsules clavate, about 2 cm long, 5 mm broad distally, 3 mm wide at base, glabrous and shiny, minutely punctate; seeds 4, suborbicular flattened, about 4 mm in diameter, 2 mm thick, surface minutely puberulous, reddish brown.
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