[3] This species is a perennial herb producing a hairy, erect stem up to about half a meter in maximum height.

The two-lipped corolla is up to 1.3 centimeters long[6] and white to pink with purple spots[8] or darker lines.

[6] The plant was considered to be a Florida endemic until the 1940s and 1950s,[6] when it began to spread throughout the southeastern United States.

Its rhizome system extends easily into the loose soils of cultivated ground, and it became a weed of residential and commercial land.

[2] Much like its relative, the Chinese artichoke, the "crisp, succulent" tuber is edible,[2] and has "a pleasingly crunchy texture and a bland, slightly sweet taste".