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Leaves opposite, subsessile, spaced along the upper part of the stem and main branches with internodes up to 16 cm long, or numerous and clustered towards the apex of the short lateral branchlets; lamina 5–15.5(40) × 1.8–10 cm, smaller and relatively narrower on the lateral branchlets, oblanceolate to oblong-obovate or elliptic, rounded or subacute at the apex, long attenuate at the base and decurrent into an apparent winged petiole, crenulate to crenate-serrate on the margins in the apical part,or entire, somewhat succulent becoming membranous when dry, concolorous, pale green, lighter beneath, drying darker, sparsely puberulous or glabrous.
Stems 1 to few, erect, cylindric, hollow, up to c. 10 mm in diameter near the base, striate, simple or few-branched, annual and herbaceous, or becoming woody with a smooth greyish-brown corky bark, longitudinally wrinkled when dry, sparsely puberulous or glabrous, with prominent leaf scars surrounded by raised corky margins; branches of annual stems herbaceous long slender, leafy and sterile; lateral branchlets on woody growth short, leafy and flowering, sometimes greatly reduced, arising from above the scars of the previous seasons leaves.
Corolla purple and green, violet or blueish; tube c. 8 mm long and c. 3 mm in diameter, exceeding the calyx; corolla limb when in bud spherical, c. 7 mm in diameter, very densely to entirely covered with small orange-brown glands (dark red-brown on drying).
Calyx 5–7 mm long at anthesis, campanulate; lobes not overlapping at the margins, 3 × 2–3(3.5) mm, oblong or semicircular, obtuse (acute when margins become inrolled on drying), puberulous or glabrous, ciliolate.
Fruit c. 12 mm long, green, turning black when mature; calyx persistent, accrescent.
Stamens erect and arcuate, exserted 12–13 mm; anthers 3–3.5 mm long, linear.
Suffrutex up to 1 m tall from a woody tuberiform rootstock.
