Herbs or subshrubs, to 40(-80) cm tall; stems drying straw-yellow or purplish black, terete, subglabrous to pilosulous. Leaves in subequal pairs; petiole 1-4 cm; blade drying papery, rather pale red, lanceolate to ovate, 3.5-12(-15) cm, usually glabrous or subglabrous on both surfaces, base cuneate, obtuse, or rarely rounded, margins entire, apex acuminate; secondary veins 9 or 10 pairs; stipules caducous, not seen. Inflorescences paniculiform to cymose, several to many flowered, densely hirtellous to pilosulous; peduncle 1.5-3.5 cm; axes 1-3.5 cm, helicoid, deflexed, later becoming erect; bracteoles absent or reduced and caducous. Flowers distylous, on pedicels 1-2 mm. Calyx mealy puberulent; hypanthium subturbinate, 1.2-1.4 mm, 5-ribbed; lobes subtriangular, 0.4-0.5 mm. Corolla white or pale purplish red, tubular-funnelform, subglabrous or mealy puberulent outside, inside pilosulous to scaly hairy in upper part onto lobes and with a white villous ring near middle of tube; tube 18-20 mm; lobes triangular-ovate, 2.5-3 mm, dorsally with carinate narrow wing prolonged into very short horn near apex, apex cucullate-rostrate. Infructescence axes often becoming thickened, glabrescent, expanded, peduncle to 5 cm, axes to 6 cm, pedicels to 4 mm. Capsules obcordate-mitriform, 3-3.4 × 8-10 mm, subglabrous. Fl. winter and spring, fr. spring and summer.
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