Perennial, tufted, suffruticose herb with a thick woody rootstock. Stems 7-30 cm, ascending or procumbent-ascending, round-quadrangular, with short, crisped, antrorse, eglandular hairs below, longer patent glandular and eglandular hairs above. Leaves linear, thick-textured, 6-28 mm x 1-5 mm, entire, revolute, cuneate, acute, with clusters of younger leaves in leaf axils; adaxial surface with short, adpressed, eglandular hairs, abaxial indumentum denser with numerous sessile glands. Petiole 1-3 mm. Inflorescence 4-sided but appearing secund when pressed, lax, terminal or lateral; flowers in the axils of ovate to elliptic, 3-7 x 2-3 mm, bracts which are entire, cuneate, acute or obtuse, thin-textured, glandular, ciliate-pilose, and cucullate. Pedicels 1-4 mm, erect, flattened. Calyx 1.5-2 mm, with a small, sometimes purple, scutellum in flower, enlarging in fruit to 3-4.5 mm with 2.5-3 mm high scutellum. Corolla 14-22 mm, pinkish mauve often with yellow markings, erect or erect-spreading, glandular or eglandular-pilose; tube 8-16 mm. Nutlets c. 1.5 x 1 mm, blackish, densely covered with adpressed white hairs.