Subshrubby herb or rarely ± shrubby, aromatic, with several stems from a woody base, (0.14–)0.3–1.5 m. tall; stems becoming brownish, often ± unbranched, densely adpressed pubescent or hispid and with shorter hairs, or the indumentum more spreading, particularly near to base.. Leaves paired or in whorls of 3, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.7–8(–10) cm. long, 0.5–5 cm. wide, ± acute at the apex or actual tip rounded, broadly cuneate at the base, slightly discolorous, rugose and ± rough or even scabrid above with adpressed hairs but not velvety, roughly velvety beneath with dense matted yellow-grey-green hairs and glandular, closely rounded-serrate, the venation usually prominent beneath, subsessile or petiole 1–5(–8) mm. long.. Inflorescences axillary, solitary or paired (i.e. up to 6 per node), ± cone-like and shortly pedunculate, mostly not reaching beyond base of leaf but elongating and becoming oblong in fruit, 0.3–3.5(–5) cm. long, 1–1.5 cm. wide; peduncles 0–1.3(–1.8) (or even up to 5–6 cm. in some variants (?hybrids)); bracts very conspicuous, rounded-ovate, obovate, lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, 0.8–1.3(–2) cm. long, 0.5–0.7(–1.3) cm. wide, larger at base of inflorescence, acute to cuspidate, the cusp often purplish, adpressed pubescent glandular and ciliate, often clearly 5-nerved or ribbed.. Calyx thin, 2.5 mm. long, ± truncate.. Corolla deep purple, crimson or magenta, sometimes with white or yellow centre, scarcely exceeding the bracts above and shorter in lower part of inflorescence; tube slender, (2–)3–4(–5) mm. long, densely spreading pubescent; limb 1.5–3 mm. wide, the lobes rounded, ± 1 mm. long, not so pubescent.. Fruits blue or purple, subglobose, 2–4 mm. long and wide, often ± shiny, invested at first in the thin membranous calyx.. Fig. 6.
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A woody herb or small shrub. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows about 1-2 m high. It often has several stems. The leaves are oval and in pairs of rings of three. They are 1-8 cm long. The tip is pointed and the base is narrowed. There are round teeth along the edge. The leaves are like sandpaper above and are hairy underneath. The flowers are purple but often with a yellow centre. The fruit are red or purple. They are 2-4 mm across. They have one seed.
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