Annual herb, primary stem 50-300 mm tall, soon branching from the base and above, branches prostrate, decumbent or ascending, pubescent with coarse patent acute hairs up to 1-1.5 mm long, minutely glandular as well, leafy, with leaf tufts and eventually more than one branch developing from the axil of each primary leaf. Leaves: radical c. 17-45 x 2-10 mm, elliptic tapering to a petiolar part accounting for up to half total leaf length, entire or obscurely toothed, very thinly pubescent, hairs acute, up to 1 mm long, primary cauline leaves c. 6-26 x 1.5-4.5 mm, narrowly obovate to narrowly elliptic tapering to the base, entire or obscurely toothed, glabrous on the upper half dorsally, thinly villous on lower part, villous ventrally, hairs up to 1-1.8 mm long particularly on lower margins. Flowers open in sunshine, up to c. 30 in congested terminal spikes, only the lowermost 2-3 capsules lax in fruit. Bracts adnate to calyx for 1.5-2.5 mm, lowermost c. 4-15 x 1.8-5 mm, spathulate, subacute, entire, glabrous or nearly so dorsally on the upper half, villous on lower half, villous ventrally, hairs acute, up to 1-2 mm long, minutely glandular as well. Calyx 4.5-6 mm long, lips 1.2-2 mm long, villous mainly on the ribs, hairs acute, up to 0.5-1 mm long, minutely glandular as well. Corolla tube 10-13 mm long (throat c. 1-1.3 mm in diam.), glabrous or with sparse minute glandular hairs, limb c. 5-6 mm in diam., slighly zygomorphic, lobes c. 2-3 x 0.8-1 mm, strongly reflexed, oblong, margins revolute, orange to brick-red, yellow in throat. Stamens 2 (anticous pair), anthers (1-)2 mm long, well exserted. Stigma c. 2.5-4.5 mm long, well exserted. Style c. 7-11.5 mm long. Ovary c. 2.5 x 0.8 mm. Capsules 5 x 2.5 mm. Seeds 0.6-0.75 x 0.4-0.5 mm, angled, colliculate, pallid.
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