Herbs, suffrutescent, 20-40 cm tall, multibranched from a woody base as if tufted, whole plant generally black when dry. Stems subterete, glabrous or puberulent. Leaves subsessile or short petiolate; leaf blade narrowly oblong to ovate-oblong, 1.5-5 cm, base attenuate to cuneate, margin shallowly toothed, pinnately parted, pinnatisect, or rarely entire; pinnule basally sparsely and shallowly toothed. Panicles terminal, lax, narrow, 5-20 cm; cymes 1-3-flowered; peduncle sparsely glandular puberulent. Pedicel sparsely glandular puberulent. Calyx ca. 2 mm; lobes rotund to rotund-elliptic, glabrous, margin membranous, conspicuous only in fruit. Corolla purple-red, ca. 6 mm; tube globose-terete, ca. 4 mm; lower lip ca. 1/2 as long as upper lip; upper lip transversely rounded. Stamens as long as corolla; staminode suboblong. Ovary ca. 2 mm. Style ca. 2.5 X as long as ovary. Capsule narrowly ovoid, 5-8 mm including beak. Fl. May-Oct, fr. Aug-Nov.

Floodplains, grassland, mountain slopes, forests; 4000-6000 m. Xizang [India, Pakistan].