[3] Gypsywort is a rather straggly perennial plant with slender underground runners and grows to a height of about 20 to 80 cm (8 to 31 in).

The inflorescence forms a terminal spike and is composed of dense whorls of white or pale pink flowers.

The calyx has five lobes and the corolla forms a two-lipped flower about 4 mm (0.16 in) long with a fused tube.

[vague][9] Rembert Dodoens wrote of the names of the plant in the 1578 English translation[10] of his original book published in 1563, as the fourth among the group of horehounds “…: in Brabant water Andoren, and of some Egyptenaers cruyt, that is to say, the Egyptians herbe, bycause of the Rogues and runnegates which call themselves Egyptians, do colour themselves blacke with this herbe.” The Brabant original seems to suggest it was used by itinerant non-Roma who were pretending to be Romani people by darkening their skin.

[10] Through time it often came to be said that name gypsywort comes from the belief that Romani people would stain their skin with the juice of the plant, although Howard (1987) states that they used it to dye their linen.