Herb to 1 m tall; stems branched, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes, puberulous mostly at the angles in the younger portions, basal portions terete and glabrous. Leaves elliptic, to 9 cm long, 3 cm wide, apically acuminate, basally attenuate, glabrous to sparingly puberulous along the costa and the veins, the cystoliths dense and prominent on both surfaces, the margins entire; petioles to 1.5 cm long, puberulous. Inflorescences in terminal and axillary spikelike thyrses, to 4 cm long, 2 cm wide, cynes 2, fanlike, of 3-5 flowers each at every node, each cyme subtended by a pair of oblong-lanceolate bracts 3-8 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, puberulous; bracts subtending the flowers unequal, obovate, to 7 mm long, 3.5 mm wide, whitish basally, greenish apically, strongly 3-nerved, puberulous with ciliate margins; outer pair of bracteoles linear, slightly falcate, 5 mm long, 0.75 mm wide, apically acuminate, ciliate, the inner bracteoles lanceolate, 4 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, ciliolate. Flowers with the calyx segments linear subulate, 3 mm long, 0.25 mm wide, minutely puberulous; corolla white, lavender striped, to 16 mm long, puberulous, the tube cylindrical, 10 mm long, 1 mm wide, the lips oblong, 6 mm long, 2 mm wide, apically minutely dentate; stamens exserted to near the tips of the lips, the filaments ca. 5 mm long, puberl-bous, the anther cells superposed, basally obtuse. Capsules elliptic, ca. 4 mm long, 1 mm wide, puberulous toward the tip; seeds 2, oval, flattened, ca. 1 mm long, roughened.
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