Herbs or subshrubs, ascending, to 1 m tall; stems terete, drying brownish purple, brown pilosulous to glabrescent. Leaves in subequal pairs; petiole 1-3 cm or longer, densely pilosulous or tomentose; blade drying thinly papery, adaxially black, abaxially pale purple, ovate or lanceolate-ovate, usually inequilateral, (5-)8-15(-18) × 1.5-4 cm, sparsely pilosulous adaxially, crisped tomentose along veins abaxially, base subcuneate, margins entire, apex caudate; secondary veins 13-18(-23) pairs; stipules caducous, not seen. Inflorescence 4-8 cm, many flowered, brown tomentose; axes helicoid; bracteoles linear, ca. 3 mm. Flowers distylous, sessile to subsessile. Calyx hispidulous; hypanthium turbinate to subglobose, ca. 1.2 mm, 5-ribbed; lobes narrowly triangular, ca. 1 mm. Corolla pale purple, subtubular to inflated, densely pilosulous outside, inside pilosulous near middle of tube and sometimes onto lobes, and/or densely glandular-pilose on lobes; tube ca. 10 mm; lobes subdeltoid, ca. 1.5 mm, dorsally with very short horn, apex rostrate. Capsules unknown. Fl. Nov.
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