Shrub with habit varying from low and spreading (e.g., c. 30 cm tall, 1 m wide) to erect (to c. 1.5 m tall), depending on situation. Branchlets uniformly and minutely puberulent, or glabrous. Leaf bud sinus small and rounded. Leaves lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or linear-lanceolate, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, (25–)40–65 mm long, 7–15(–19) mm wide; upper surface dark to yellowgreen; underside of lamina glabrous; underside of midrib glabrous or hairy, hairs when present being < 0.2 mm long; margins pubescent to puberulent (at least toward base). Inflorescences 5.5–10 cm long. Outer surface of calyx lobes usually glabrous, but sometimes hairy. Corolla lobes at least faintly mauve when young, fading to white after anthesis, glabrous outside (but only a few flowering specimens available for examination); corolla tubes 2.7–3.9 mm long. Ovaries glabrous or sparsely hairy (especially along septal grooves).

A subspecie pubescens et subspecie sejuncta foliis plerumque lanceolatis vel anguste lanceolatis; paginis infernis foliorum glabris et costis infernis glabris vel pilis brevioribus quam 0.2 mm vestitis differt.

2n = 40