Phyllostegia racemosa, of the Lamiaceae (mint) family, is a climbing vine with many-branched, square stems and spicy-smelling leaves. Leaves are opposite, moderately covered with short, soft hairs, dotted with small glands, 3.4 to 6 cm (1.3 to 2.4 in) long, and 1.4 to 4.3 cm (0.6 to 1.7 in) wide, with shallow, rounded teeth. The leaf stalks are densely covered with short hairs. Flower clusters, densely covered with short soft hairs, are comprised of 6 to 12 flowers with individual flower stalks 1 to 3 mm (0.04 to 0.12 in) long and leaflike bracts. The green bell-shaped calyx is about 3.5 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) long, covered with glands, and has triangular lobes. The white corolla is two-lipped, with a tube about 7 to 10 mm (0.3 to 0.4 in) long, upper lip 2 to 2.5 mm (0.08 to 0.1) long, and lower lip 4 to 5 mm (0.16 to 0.2 in) long. Fruits are divided into four nutlets about 1.5 to 2 mm (0.06 to 0.08 in) long.