Herbs to 50 cm tall, anisophyllous, drying blackish green. Stems somewhat zigzag, internodes winged, wing 1.5-4 mm wide. Petiole 1-3 cm, glabrous; leaf blade oblong-ovate to lanceolate, smaller of pair 2-8 × 1-3 cm and larger one 6-13(-17) × 2.5-5.5 cm, glabrous, secondary veins 4-6 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin dentate to crenate, apex acute. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, spikes, 3-10 cm; bracts ovate to lanceolate, 2.5-5 mm, caducous, glabrous, apex acute to obtuse; bracteoles spatulate-linear to linear, 4-7 mm, caducous, glabrous. Flowers 5-10 mm apart on rachis, often one sterile per node. Calyx 6-12 mm, glabrous, subequally 5-lobed or with 2 lobes slightly longer; lobes lanceolate, ca. 10 × 1 mm but accrescent in fruit, apex acute. Corolla pale purple, 3-4 cm, ventricose, outside glabrous, inside glabrous except for trichomes retaining style; tube basally cylindric and ca. 2 mm wide for ca. 5 mm then gradually widened to ca. 1 cm at mouth; lobes ovate, 3-4 mm, subequal, apex emarginate. Stamens 4, included; shorter filament pair ca. 2 mm, glabrous; longer filament pair ca. 5 mm, hirsute; anther thecae oblong, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm; pollen type 12. Ovary apex minutely pubescent; style ca. 2.5 cm. Capsule fusiform, ca. 1.4 cm, glabrous ?except apically, 4-seeded. Seeds ovate in outline, ca. 3 × 2.5 mm, densely appressed pubescent. Fl. Sep-Nov, fr. Dec-Feb.
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