Infl. of whorled fls, us. in bracted spikes. Calyx 10-15-nerved, teeth nearly equal; corolla-tube short, lobes 4, nearly equal. Stamens 4, ± equal, mostly exserted. Nutlets ovoid, smooth. Perennial rhizomatous or stoloniferous herbs, with us. 4-angled stems and branches and fragrant opp. or whorled simple lvs. Some 30 spp., mostly of temperate regions, the N.Z. sp. endemic.

Usually perennial, rarely annual, herbs with creeping rhizomes or stolons. Lvs simple, aromatic, usually toothed. Verticels usually dense, many-flowered, axillary or in terminal spikes or heads, or as few as 2 fls per verticel, or rarely fls solitary. Fls ☿ or ♀. Bracts leaflike or reduced. Calyx tubular or campanulate, 10-15-nerved, not gibbous at base, generally hairy inside; teeth (4)-5, equal or unequal. Corolla tube < calyx; limb 4-lobed, subequal and scarcely 2-lipped; upper lobe wider and usually emarginate. Stamens almost equal, divergent or lying together beneath upper corolla lip, generally exserted. Style gynobasic, its branches subequal. Nutlets ellipsoid to suborbicular or ovoid, smooth, reticulate or tuberculate.