Red coral bells typically form a basal mound of rounded deep-green leaves (to 5 cm across). Showy, sweetly fragrant, bell-shaped, red flowers (to 1 cm long) bloom from late spring to early summer (May-July) in open airy panicles atop slender leafless flowering stems rising above the foliage. The individual, small flowers have 5 petals and are glandular-hairy. The flowers are followed by small, beaked, egg-shaped seed capsules.
