A herb or small shrub. It can grow up to 2 m high and keeps growing from year to year. It has an unpleasant smell. The stems are branched at the base and woody. They are rough and have hairs. The leaves are opposite and 6 cm long by 5 cm wide. The flowers are red and trumpet shaped. The tube curves downwards. The flowers are as 4-12 in a spike. The fruit is a flat capsule 14 mm long. The seeds are oval.
It is a subtropical plant. It grows in well drained soils usually on rocky or sandy soils and near watercourses. In southern Africa it grows between 900-1,200 m altitude. It is in areas with a rainfall under 550 mm per year. It can grow in arid places.
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