Erect perennial rhizomatous herb 0.25–2.5 m high, much branched in upper half; stems exfoliating and often woody near base, covered with dense, long spreading hairs and sometimes also with short glandular hairs. Leaves mostly opposite, lanceolate-elliptic to narrowly obovate or narrowly elliptic, 4–12(–23) cm long, 3–40 mm wide, villous, sessile, margins with dense small teeth, base tapering to cordate. Flowers with a conspicuous ring of long white hairs inside the hypanthium; sepals oblong-linear, 6–12 mm long; petals bright pink to dark purple, 9–20 mm long. Capsule 2.5–9 cm long, densely villous, with a mixture of long spreading hairs and short glandular hairs; pedicle 0.5–2 cm long; seeds 0.8–1.2 mm long, papillose, comose. Flowers Jan.–Mar.
VVP, GipP, OtP, WaP, CVU, HSF, OtR. Also Naturalised ACT. Widespread throughout Asia, Europe and northern Africa. In Victoria it was first collected in 1996, where it is now recorded as a weed at a range of sites, commonly growing at margins of wetlands and other damp situations.
