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General:
Coarse dwarf shrub, mat-forming; stems 4-angled, stiff, ascending to erect, 5-30 cm long, finely hairy.
Leaves:
Evergreen, opposite, distinctly in 4 rows, appressed, nearly concealing the stems, egg- to lance-shaped, 2-6 mm long, deeply grooved on the back, conspicuously finely hairy and minutely fringed on outer surface, usually glabrous or glandular on concave inner surface; unstalked.
Flowers:
Solitary in leaf axils to few near branch tips, nodding on stalks 10-25 mm long, longer than the subtending leaves; corollas white or pinkish, bell-shaped, (4) 5-10 mm long, lobes egg-shaped, almost 1/2 the length of the tube; calyces reddish, egg-shaped, 2-2.5 mm long, entire; stamens not enlarged at the base.
Fruits:
Capsules, globe-shaped, glabrous, about 3 mm wide.
Notes:
Two varieties are recognized in BC:
1. Flowers usually less than 5 (6) mm long, the flower stalks generally less than twice the length of the subtending leaves........................ var. saximontana (Small) C. L. Hitchc.
1. Flowers 6-10 mm long, the flower stalks proportionately longer, more than twice the length of the subtending leaves........................... var. tetragona
Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
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