Erect, suffrutescent, single-to few-stemmed, 20-30 cm high. Roots woody. Stems herbaceous to woody, up to about 20 cm long, 2-3 mm in diam., with a double indumentum the first of which is lanuginose and the second consists of scattered long, gland-based hairs, with numerous stalked and sessile glands. Leaves petiolate, densely clustered around the stems, sometimes becoming subopposite or opposite at the apices of the stems or on the lateral branches born at the apices, those of a pair sometimes unequal, the smaller leaves with lateral branches and/or inflorescences in the axil; the petiole with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, 0.3-0.5 x as long as the blade, 6-12 mm long, geniculate at the apex, flattened at the base; stipules acicular, 4-8 mm long, with the same indumentum and glands as the stem; blade simple, narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 3-5 x as long as wide, 15-35 x 4-10 mm, 3-or 5-toothed at the apex, truncate at the base, serrate and sinuate at the margin, above pubescent or pilose, with numerous sessile and stalked glands, beneath with the double indumentum of the stem on the veins and often most of these hairs gland-based, pubescent or pilose in between the veins, with numerous sessile and stalked glands, main veins pinnate, impressed above and prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary and terminal, 1-3-flowered, 40-65 mm long. Peduncles and pedicels slender, with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, but the pedicels becoming more densely covered by the stalked glands towards the apex; peduncles 0.5-1 x as long as the pedicels, 9-25 mm long, flattened; pedicels 20-25 mm long, flattened basally and becoming terete towards the apex, geniculate at the base and apex, involucral bracts 2 per flower, 8-12 mm long, acicular or very narrowly obovate and navicular, with the same indumentum and glands as the stem. Sepals green and purplish-tinged, free, narrowly ovate to ovate, 2-3 x as long as wide, 8-10 x 2-4 mm; outside with the indumentum of the stem and with numerous stalked glands, inside glabrous and with 3 parallel main veins, margins ciliate; mucro terete, 3 mm long, purplish, with the same indumentum and glands as the stem, sometimes with a globular pocket of yellow, resinous granules and also a small tuft of white hairs at the base. Petals obtriangular or broadly angular-obovate, 1-2 x as long as wide, 10-15 x 7-8 mm, 1-1.5 x as long as the sepals, 1-2 x as long as the stamens, pale mauve, venation purplish, with 5 main veins, outside pubescent towards the base, inside mostly villous on the limb, pubescent at the base; the base winged and ciliate; the apex sharply or bluntly toothed, or deeply lobed. Stamens monadelphous, arranged in a cup-shaped column around the pistil, basally connate for 0.5-1 mm; the filaments of each group basally connate for 1-2 mm, purplish, filaments in the central stamens 6-7 mm and in the lateral 4-5 mm long, glabrous inside, an obscure broadly ovate gland-cavity is situated On the outer side of each group; anthers yellow, elliptic or oblong, those of the long filaments slightly larger, 2-2.5 x 1-1.5 mm, subintrorse; pollen grains many per cell. Pistil 7-10 mm long, ovary broadly obovoid, 2 x 2 mm, whitish-hirto-pubescent; beak terete, 3-5 mm long, pubescent and, furthermore, also with stalked glands at the base; stigmas clavate, 3 x 0.5 mm, purplish, outer surface sparsely to moderately pubescent, acute at the apex, subcrenate at the margin. Fruit 45-60 mm long, mericarps 10-15 x 2 mm, beak 35-50 mm long; mericarps narrowly subobovoid, hirsute, obliquely ridged and rimmed at the apex; the rim and ridge apices shortly hirsute; the tail hirsute outside, hispid inside where it detaches from the beak-axis; these stiff hairs copper-coloured, and long at the tail's base, forming a crest.
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