Mostly perennial herb up to c. 30 cm tall. Leaves in basal rosettes, linear-lanceolate to almost linear, 2–15(–20) x 0.2–1 cm, entire, obscurely 3-veined, lanate with whitish hairs. Peduncles ± exceeding the leaves, tomentose; spikes 1–10 cm long, cylindrical, dense above, usually lax below; bracts ovate, 3-5–4.5 mm long, pubescent. Calyx-lobes subequal, 3–4 mm long. Corolla-tube 3–4 mm long, glabrous; lobes 2.5–3.5 mm long, ovate, acuminate. Stamens exserted for 4–7 mm. Capsule c. 4 mm long. Seeds 2, 2.5–3 mm long.
Range
N1, 2 Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mediterranean region, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and eastwards to Iran.
