Obedient plant overwinters as a basal rosette of willowlike leaves; during the growing season wandlike square stems emerge and bear leaves in opposite pairs. This plant has opposite lance shaped leaves and bears showy spikes of light, tubular shaped purple flowers. The light purple blossoms are long lasting as cut flowers. They are especially easy to arrange because flowers pushed to face a different direction from the stem will stay in their new positions obediently, which is where the plant got its name.