Erect perennial to 2.5 m high. Leaflets c. ovate to lanceolate, 8–100 mm long, 5–27 mm wide, base occasionally with a lobe or conspicuous tooth; petiole 0.5–5 cm long. Inflorescence 30–80 mm long. Calyx 9–13 mm long, pubescent, gland-dotted; tube 7–9 mm long; teeth 2–4 mm long. Corolla pink to purplish, 17–20 mm long; tube c. 14 mm long, with occasional hairs; upper lip 3 mm long; lower lip 3 mm long. Flowers Aug.–Mar.
GipP, HSF, OtR, Strz. Also naturalised SA, Tas. Native to the Canary Islands and Madeira. Naturalised near Mirboo in a disturbed damp sclerophyll forest near a minor water course, alongside a forested stretch of the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road at Sassafras, in a forested gully in the east Melbourne suburb of Park Orchards, and along Waterfall Creek at Arthurs Seat State Park.
Plants have a pleasant cedar-like aroma which is the source of the genus name which means little cedar.
