Root thick, woody, vertical. Stems simple, 30-60 cm, densely covered with long multicellular simple hairs. Leaves bipinnatifid, oblong-ovate in outline; lamina 10-15 x c. 5 cm, on both surfaces with a rather dense indumentum of either stellate-dendroid or almost entirely long simple hairs; petiole upto c. 12 cm, densely white-villous. Verticillasters 7-10, all ± contiguous, many-flowered, densely white-woolly. Bracts c. 10 x 2-3 mm, lanceolate, mucronulate. Calyx c. 20 mm, tubular-campanulate; teeth with c. 1.5 mm mucros. Corolla c. 35 mm, bright yellow; upper and lower lips subequal; tube without an annulus. Nutlets not known.

Type: Afghanistan, Nuristan, Pashki, 2600 m, Edelberg 947 (holo C; iso W!).

Distribution: NE Afghanistan, Pakistan, Pamir-Alai.

Related to: Eremostachys acaulis, but tall-growing; to the mainly C. Asiatic Eremostachys speciosa Rupr., undoubtedly a very close relative indeed; and to the seemingly more Himalayan Eremostachys superb. These three species, and others both in C. Asia and Afghanistan, require a reassessment. Although Rechinger (Fl. Iran. 150: 273. 1982) records Eremostachys speciosa from Pakistan on the basis of one Chitral gathering (Harriss), I incline to calling this collection Eremostachys edelbergii. Recently, Adylov et al. On Vvedensky, Conspect. Fl As. Med. 9: 95. 1987) has reduced Eremostachys edelbergii to a synonym of Phlomoides speciosa (Rupr.) Adylov, Kamelin & Machmedov.