Herbs annual, (6--)45 cm tall, not drying black. Roots fibrous. Stems cespitose or single, glabrescent. Basal leaves usually withering early. Stem leaves few; petiole 4--6 cm; leaf blade linear-oblong, 5--7 X 2--3.5 cm, abaxially sparsely white scurfy, adaxially sparsely puberulent, pinnatipartite; segments 7--12 pairs, oblong-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, sinuate-dentate. Inflorescences centrifugal, to more than 30 cm; bracts leaflike. Pedicel 5--12 mm. Calyx oblong, pubescent, less than 1/3 cleft anteriorly; lobes 5, unequal. Corolla usually red-rose; tube 3--6 cm, 2--4 X as long as calyx; galea bent at a right angle apically; beak circular, 1.2--1.4 cm; lower lip completely enveloping galea, 2.5--3.5 cm wide, ciliate. Anterior filament pair pubescent. Capsule ovoid-lanceolate, ca. 3 cm X 9 mm. Fl. Jun--Aug, fr. Jul--Sep. 2n = 16.