Herbs annual, more than 1 m tall, drying black. Stems with 3 or 4 lines of hairs, many branched; branches in whorls of 4--6. Basal leaves withering early; stem leaves in whorls of 3 or 4, ± sessile; leaf blade ovate-oblong, 2.5--3.5 X 1--1.5 cm, abaxially glabrescent, adaxially pubescent along midvein, pinnatisect; segments 6--9 pairs, oblong, incised-dentate. Inflorescences racemose, interrupted; bracts leaflike. Calyx cylindric, 5--7 X 1--2 mm, pubescent along midvein; lobes 5, entire or serrate. Corolla purplish pink, 1.2--1.5 cm; tube straight, 7--8 mm; galea bent at a right angle apically, not crested; beak 4--5.5 mm; lower lip 7--10 mm wide, glabrous, middle lobe not hoodlike. Filaments glabrous. Capsule broadly ovoid, apiculate. Fl. Aug--Sep, fr. Sep--Oct. 2n = 16.

Alpine meadows on mountain slopes, grassy slopes; 2000--4000 m. W Sichuan, S Xizang, NW Yunnan [Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim]