Possibly from the Greek byssos — thread, pogon — beard.

Strongly aromatic shrubs. Leaves entire,margins sometimes with rounded teeth. Flower clusters dense, terminal, branched. Flowers with calyx tubular to bell-shaped, with 5 more or less equal teeth. Corolla 2-lipped, the upper lobe divided into 2 at the tip, the lower 3-lobed, white or pink. Stamens 4, in 2 unequal pairs, enclosed.

Seed or cuttings.

Flower clusters open, the numerous hairs on the 10-13-nerved calyx giving the cluster a feathered or smoky appearance; sepals with many hairs.

10 species from Macaronesia.

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Lamiaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.