Herbs perennial, 20--50 cm tall, sparsely pubescent, drying black. Lateral roots 4--8, fleshy. Stems 1--7, erect, often unbranched, with 4 lines of hairs. Basal leaves often withering early, petiole to 4 cm. Stem leaves opposite or in whorls of 3(or 4); petiole 0.5--1.5(--3) cm; leaf blade ovate or ovate-oblong, 2--4(--6) X 1--1.5 cm, adaxially sparsely pubescent along midvein, pinnatifid; segments 4 or 6 pairs, ovate-oblong to triangular-ovate, dentate. Inflorescences spicate, 3--9(--17) cm; proximal bracts leaflike, distal ones lanceolate. Calyx 5--8 mm, slightly cleft anteriorly, villous along veins; lobes 5, unequal. Corolla purple, 1.6--2 cm; tube erect, ca. 2 X as long as calyx, glabrous; galea bent at a right angle; beak 5--6 mm, slender; lower lip ca. as long as or slightly longer than galea, ciliate, middle lobe not hoodlike. Filaments glabrous. Capsule narrowly ovoid, 1.4--1.8 cm X 5--7 mm. Fl. Jul--Sep, fr. Aug--Oct.
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