Plants perennial, glaucous (bluish); stems 3-12 dm tall; basal leaves petiolate; cauline leaves cordate-clasping or connate-perfoliate; inflorescence narrow, often more than half plant height, glandular or glabrous; flowers in dense fascicles separated by long internodes; corolla orange-pink to scarlet, glandular outside, very obscurely bilabiate, throat only slightly expanded, 17-22 mm long; stamens included; anthers glabrous, explanate; staminode bearded near tip with a few short hairs. Flowering April-June.