Herbs; stems erect or ascending, 20 to 70 cm. high, the branches slender, more or less puberulous; leaves ovate, 2 to 7 cm. long, 1 to 5 cm. wide, acute or obtuse at apex, obtuse to acute at base, glabrous to sparingly pilose, thin, the cystoliths rather conspicuous; spikes dense, 4-sided, 3 to 6 cm. long; bracts ovate, pinnately veined, 1 to 2.5 cm. long, about 1 cm. wide, acutish at apex, rounded at base, loosely stri- gose and ciliate, and, in addition to the coarser hairs, more or less softly and densely puberulous, the hairs minute, curved, and white; corolla white or purplish, a little longer than the subtending bracts; capsules broadly oblong, about 6 mm. long, puberulous, 16-seeded; seeds flat, brown, about 1.5 mm. in diameter, apparently glabrous when dry, if moistened the edge bearing a densely set gelatinous band of minute straight white hairs.