Home
Perennial herbs or small shrubs; rhizomes sometimes present, occasionally tuberous; hairs usually stellate or dendroid, often pilose or tomentose. Lvs simple, usually toothed. Bracts usually similar to lvs. Verticels few-to many-flowered, often very dense in distant whorls. Calyx tubular, or narrow-campanulate, not gibbous at base, 5-10-nerved; teeth 5, equal or unequal. Corolla 2-lipped, purple to pink or yellow; tube < to = calyx; upper lip hooded or at least concave, generally tomentose and curving over lower lip; lower lip patent, 3-lobed. Stamens exserted; 2 filaments often with appendages at base; anther cells divergent. Style gynobasic; branches unequal. Nutlets trigonous, glabrous or hairy.
Cal strongly 5-nerved, with subulate lobes, the upper 3 ascending or erect, the lower 2 slightly longer, spreading or deflexed; cor strongly 2-lipped, the upper lip galeate-hooded, emarginate, densely white-villous, the lower deflexed, 3-lobed; stamens 4, about equal, ascending under the upper lip; nutlets hairy at the tip; perennial herbs or shrubs with large fls in dense clusters axillary to bracteal lvs. 100+, temp. Old World.
