Bushy shrublet up to 35cm with stiffly hairy, sprawling branches. Leaves oval to elliptic, opposite, with coarsely toothed edges; small flowers have a tubular calyx that opens into flaring lobes from which one or both of the stamens protrude, flowers white, pink or mauve with a yellow throat.

Latin: hispidus = hairy, bristly: referring to the hairy branches and leaves of this species

Greek: chen = a goose with a wide bill; chaino = to yawn, open wide: referring to the flaring lobes of the flowers