Perennial erect shrub. Stem and branches terete, obscurely winged, quite glabrous except for a few small hairs at the node, internodes swollen at the base. Leaves simple, decussate, 15-22 x 5-8 cm, elliptic-oblanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, glaucous beneath, base acutely tapering, leathery, margin ciliate. Flowers solitary, axillary in terminal spikes; bracts leafy; bracteoles 1-2 x 0.2-0.4 cm, linear-ligulate, broadly elliptic lanceolate. Flower tube is 8-12 cm long, and funnel shaped. Upper lip is 4-lobed.