Erect to spreading perennial herb or shrub to 1.5 m tall. Young stem subquadrate to quadrate-multistriate to ± flattened, (± evenly to) bifariously pubescent, soon glabrate. Petiole to 20 mm long; blade lanceolate to ovate to elliptic-ovate, 2-13.5 x 1.5-5 cm, margin entire, acute to acuminate at apex, acute to attenuate at base, both surfaces glabrous or with trichomes along major veins. Inflorescence of dichasia in axils of distal leaves or usually in axils of bracts forming a terminal, sessile, dichasiate spike, 2-7 cm long (excluding flowers), 1.2-2.5 cm in diam. near midpoint (excluding flowers); rachis pubescent; dichasia opposite, 1(-2) per axil, 1-flowered, sessile; bracts opposite, proximal bracts often foliose, those near midspike petiolate, elliptic to obovate to spathulate, 9-16 x 2.5-6.5 mm, apically acute to truncate, subglabrous to moderately hirtellous and ciliate; bracteoles oblanceolate to spathulate, 6-18 x 0.8-6.5 mm, apically rounded to truncate, pubescence similar to that of bracts Flowers sessile to subsessile; calyx 5-lobed, 7-12 mm long, lobes equal, lanceolate, 6.5-11 x 1-1.5 mm, glabrous or hirtellous, and margin ciliate, white; corolla violet to reddish to purple, rarely white, (14-)17-34 mm long, pubescent without, tube (6-)8-18 mm long, 1.5-4.5 mm in diam., upper lip erect, triangular-ovate, 7.5-13 mm long, entire to 2-lobed, lobes 1.3-2.3 mm long, lower lip spreading, 8-17 mm long, lobes 4.5-5 x 3-8 mm, all ovate and apically rounded; stamens exserted 5 mm beyond mouth of corolla tube, anther thecae subequal, subparallel, unequally inserted, upper theca attached to connective 1 mm above basal appendaged lobe; style 13-22 mm long, proximally pubescent, minutely bilobed. Capsule 10-18 x 6 x 3 mm, puberulous, stipe 3-8 mm long, body ovoid to subspheric to ellipsoid-obovoid, 7-10 mm long, often with a slight medial constriction; seeds 4, subspheric, 3-3.5 x 3-3.3 x 1.7-2 mm, puberulous, when mature glabrous, smooth and nitid.
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