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Erect or somewhat scrambling shrub or herb 0.6–4 m. tall; stems with sparse to dense white or brown hairs above, usually drying ferruginous or yellowish, sometimes densely velvety. Leaf blades 3.5–15 x 1.7–7 cm., ovate-lanceolate or ovate-oblong, acute or acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, mostly very discolorous, sparsely shortly hairy above, pubescent to velvety beneath with very fine short white hairs; petiole up to 2 cm. long; stipules with 3–9 linear setae 0.4–1.5 cm. long from a triangular base 1–6 mm. long. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, dense or lax, up to 8 cm. wide, many-flowered; peduncles up to 4 cm. long. Calyx tube c. 1.5 mm. long and wide, glabrous or velvety; lobes foliaceous, very unequal; 1–3 much enlarged, 0.5–1.8 cm. x 1–4 mm., narrowly lanceolate, acute, 3-nerved, pubescent, the rest small, 1.5–7 x 0.3–1.3 mm., linear, deltoid or lanceolate. Flowers vermilion-scarlet. Long-styled flowers with corolla tube 0.7–2 cm. long, 0.5–1.5 mm. wide at the base, dilated at the apex to 1.5–3 mm. wide for an apical cylindrical portion of 2.5–5(7) mm., glabrous to hairy outside, with white hairs inside save at the throat where they are scarlet; lobes (2.5)3–10(12) x 1–4.5 mm., narrowly oblong, elliptic or oblong-lanceolate; stamens entirely included; style usually bluish purple, exserted 1–9 mm., the stigmas scarlet or purple, 1.5–4.5 mm. long. Short-styled flowers very similar; corolla tube 0.7–1.7 cm. long, 0.5 mm. wide at the base, gradually expanding to the throat which is 1–2.5 mm. wide; exserted anthers usually blue-purple. Fruiting inflorescences with individual branches ± spicate. Capsules 3–6 x 2.25–3.5 mm., oblong to obovoid, 10-ribbed, crowned with the persistent calyx lobes; beak only slightly raised.