An upright to sprawling perennial herb which can be woody at the base. It ranges from 30 centimeters to one meter-3 feet in height and equally wide. The plant can be either a smooth dark green or a hairy dark grey-green, with many gradations in between. It is often dotted with glands which release a strongly minty odor when the plant is touched.
The leaves can lance-shaped to ovate, and are smooth-edged. They measure up to 4.5 centimeters long.
The flowers range in color from white and pale pink to light bluish-purple. The inflorescence is a head, which can be from 10 mm. to 25 mm. wide, with outer bracts which are like leaves, and inside bracts which enclose the many flowers like a cup. These bracts can be hairy or smooth, and sometimes have a rose or purplish color. The calyx, which is inside these bracts, is hairy and has 5 lobes. The corolla is tubular and has two lips. The upper lip is erect and has two lobes, but the lower lip curves downward and has 3 lobes. It has 4 stamens, and a style which has two unequal lobes.
The fruits, like most of fruits of the mint family, are 4 smooth nutlets which are dark brown to black in color.
