Herbs 30-60 cm tall, erect, much branched, isophyllous. Stems slender, decumbent and often rooting at nodes, bifariously pilose or glabrescent. Petiole 0-3 cm but apically leaves sessile, densely yellowish brown pilose; leaf blade elliptic, ovate, obovate, or ovate-lanceolate, 1-7(-11) × 1-4(-6) cm, abaxially glabrous or pilose, adaxially dark green and glabrous or sparsely pilose, secondary veins 4-7 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and often decurrent onto petiole, margin serrulate to crenulate, apex acute. Inflorescences terminal or axillary from apical leaf axils, spikes, 2-5 cm; peduncle 0-6 cm, pubescent; sterile bracts resembling reduced leaves; floral bracts imbricate, oblong to ovate-elliptic, 1.1-2.5 cm, concave, caducous or somewhat persistent after flowering, dull green, abaxially pubescent and covered with cystoliths, margin usually crenulate; bracteoles narrowly oblong-elliptic, 6-7 × 1-2 mm, scarious and caducous, abaxially puberulent. Calyx 0.8-1.4 cm, outside gland-tipped ciliate, 5-lobed almost to base; lobes linear-oblong with one distinctly longer than others, apex acute. Corolla purplish red to blue, 3.5-5 cm, ventricose, outside pubescent; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2 mm wide for ca. 1.2 cm then slightly curved and gradually widened to ca. 1.2 cm at mouth; lobes orbicular, 5-6 mm in diam. Stamens 4, included; filaments subglabrous, shorter pair ca. 2 mm and strongly reflexed, longer pair ca. 7 mm; anther thecae subspherical, ca. 1.2 mm; pollen type 3. Ovary comose; style 3.2-3.5 cm. Capsule fusiform, ca. 1.2 cm, glabrous except for few trichomes at tip, 4-seeded. Seeds light brown, ovate in outline, ca. 2.5 × 2 mm, densely pubescent; areola small, glabrous. Fl. Aug-Nov.
Home