Erect to procumbent perennial or shrubby herb; stems to 40 cm long, minutely sericeous-puberulous or sparsely so when young. Leaves glossy or not, sparsely minutely scabrid-puberulous with bulbous-based hairs and often with scattered sericeous-puberulous hairs along midrib; lamina narrowly ovate-elliptic, largest 2-6.8 x 0.4-1 cm; margin with 5-15 large and small spreading triangular mucronate teeth. Spikes 2-5.5 cm long, 4-12-flowered; peduncle 2-15 mm long with 3-4 pairs of sterile bracts, upper pair like fertile; fertile bracts green to brown, with white veins or whole basal part white, 5(-7)-veined from base, glabrous to sparsely minutely sericeous-puberulous, sometimes puberulous along midrib, lower and middle elliptic to obovate or broadly so 25-37 x 9-14 mm of which the recurved narrowly triangular spinose tip 9-18 mm, on each side with 3-7 teeth of which the longest 5-6 mm. Bracteoles 17-24 x 1-1.5 mm, linear, cuspidate, glabrous. Sepals glabrous at base, sparsely sericeous-puberulous apically at least along veins (rarely completely glabrous), ciliate or not; dorsal 19-25 mm long, 5(-7)-veined from base, broadly ovate-elliptic with long ligulate or subligulate apical part narrowing gradually to a subacute apex with 3-5 small teeth, apical part becoming scarious; ventral 15-20 mm long, 2(-5)-veined from base, broadly ovate, narrowing gradually to an apex with 2 triangular and mucronate teeth (1-)2-5 mm long (rarely with 1-2 small central teeth); lateral 9-12 mm long, broadly ovate. Corolla mauve to bright blue or purple, 25-32 mm long of which the tube 5-8 mm; limb spathulate, 12-18 mm wide, hairy all over beneath with all hairs upwardly directed, central lobe wider than long or same length, truncate to retuse; filaments 9-11 mm long, sparsely glandular; appendage 2.5-5 mm long, oblong or tapering slightly to the broadly rounded apex; anthers 4-5.5 mm long. Capsule 11-14 mm long; seed 7-9 x 3.5-4.5 mm.
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