Herbicides use should be avoided in areas where this plant exists. Mature plants are covered with short, stiff hairs. Stems are four-angled and unbranched to slightly branched. Leaves are numerous, opposite, and borne directly on the stem. They are lance-shaped and tend to be a purplish green.
Venation is pinnate.
Inflorescences are unbranched flowering stalks. Small green leaflike bracts occur at the base of each flower. Corollas are purple to magenta often with red spots on the inside. The upper two limbs are slightly longer and over arch the lower three, creating a weakly bilateral shape. The four stamens four are covered with silky hairs.