It is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 0.5–1 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, broadly lanceolate, 1–7 cm long and 2-2.5 cm broad. The opposite leaves are simple, elliptic or ovate to broad-lanceolate, sometimes linear and usually bleak. The flowers are zygomorphic, with two 'lips' closing the corolla tube
It is native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern France, and east to Turkey and Syria.