Erect (rarely decumbent) viscid glandular aromatic (when crushed) perennial or shrubby herb (often pyrophytic) from creeping rootstock and tuberous roots, or shrub; stems to 1(–1.5) m tall, usually much branched, quadrangular, when young sparsely to densely glandular-puberulous and with scattered longer glands (to 1 mm) intermixed, often also with long pilose non-glandular hairs up to 3 mm and with puberulous non-glandular hairs. Leaves often immature at time of flowering, elliptic to slightly obovate, largest (mature) 3–15≈1.3–5.5(–6.5) cm, apex subacute to rounded, base long-decurrent, without distinct petiole, margin subentire to dentate, glabrous or with scattered broad long glossy hairs on veins, more rarely uniformly puberulous. Flowers solitary or in 3-flowered cymules, aggregated into racemiform cymes which are again aggregated into branched panicles, indumentum as young stems but with denser glands; bracts foliacaeous towards base, gradually smaller upwards; peduncles of cymules to 10(–30) mm long; pedicels 0–2 mm long; bracteoles elliptic to orbicular or obovate, 3–11 mm long, with recurved tip. Calyx 6–11(–14 in fruit) mm long, glandular-puberulous or densely so, usually also with long pilose hairs; tube 5–6.5 mm long; teeth narrowly triangular to lanceolate, acute, dorsal 1–4.5 mm long, ventral 1.5–4 mm long with the free part 1–3 mm. Corolla white to mauve or purple, with darker patches on lower lip and with orange-brown palate, 14–23 mm long, finely sericeous or sparsely so and with scattered capitate glands outside; tube 8–13 mm long of which the throat 2–4 mm; lips 5–10 mm long; lobes oblong-obovate, 1.5–3.5 mm wide, retuse to truncate; palate on lower lip with numerous long stiff hairs directed down into throat. Filaments 2–5 mm long, sparsely puberulous at base and with scattered capitate glands towards apex; anthers 1.5–2 mm long, connective with usually dense captate glands. Stigma lobes subequal. Capsule 7–10 mm long, obovoid, glabrous or with scattered glands near apex. Seed 3–4 mm long. Fig. 37, p. 243.