Growing on roadsides, field edges and waste ground, this pretty flower is inconspicuous amongst the springtime vegetation, but sometimes forms large colonies.

The flowers are arranged in a compact spikes with new flowers developing towards the apex as the plant grows. The shorter plants stems are vertical but longer ones lay along the ground turing upwards to form the flowering spike. The flowers which are separated by prominent green bracts, have an upper lip which is touched with pale pink and the lower three lobed lip is white. Characteristically the stems are square in cross section.

The whole of the plant is covered in glandular hairs.