Japan Flora: Subshrub with slightly branched slender woody base; stems 40-100 cm. long, smooth, lustrous, green and prominently stellate-pilose while young, pale yellow-brown the second year; leaves mem­branous, oblong to broadly elliptic, 10-20 cm. long, 6-12 cm. wide, rounded or short-cuneate at base, toothed, stellate-pubes­cent above and especially on the nerves beneath, the petioles 1-5 cm. long; spikes erect, densely flowered, 10-18 cm. long, sessile, stellate-puberulent, the bracts densely imbricate, short- cuspidate, 6-8 mm. long, 8-10 mm. wide, caducous; corolla 8-10 mm. long, rose-colored. Sept.-Oct. Woods in moun­tains.

Honshu (centr. and w. distr.). 

var. tosaense (Makino) Kitam. & Murata. Leaves stellate-pubescent while very young. Reported from Shikoku and Kyushu.