Plants gynodioecious. Stems short, much branched; vegetative shoots arising mostly from apical parts, ± shorter, less numerous than fertile branches, pubescent; fertile branchlets to 30 cm, suberect to obliquely ascending, with small branchlets when larger, spreading or retrorse villous where bearing flowers, ± pubescent elsewhere, leaf axils sometimes bearing tufts of small leaves. Leaves oblong-elliptic to linear-oblong, 1-2.8 cm × 1-6.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, distinctly glandular abaxially, base attenuate, margin entire or indistinctly 1- or 2-serrulate, not or only slightly involute, apex acute to obtuse. Verticillasters in spikes on apical part of fertile branchlets. Bisexual flowers well developed; pistillate flowers reduced. Pedicel 2-4.5(-5) mm, densely pubescent. Calyx tubular-campanulate, 2.5-3.5(-4) mm, spreading pilose, glandular in fruit; teeth of upper lip triangular , acute, ciliate. Corolla red-purple, purple, or white, pubescent, ca. 5 mm, exserted, lower lip spreading; corolla of pistillate flowers to 4 mm, lower lip nearly straight. Nutlets black-brown, ovoid, ca. 1 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug.

Stony slopes, basins, streamsides. Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia].