Shrub 0.3-1.0 m tall;  bark fissured, glabrous, gray, with persistent and projecting leaf bases;  twigs bluntly angled, maroon, hispid or sometimes glandular-hispid.  Leaves coriaceous, slightly revolute or slightly longitudinally-curled, narrowly ovate to ovate, 0.8-2.3 x 0.25-0.7 cm, base cuneate, apex acute, bluntly mucronate, margin entire, both surfaces glabrous;  petiole slightly flattened in cross-section, 0.7-2.2(-3) mm long, glabrous.  Inflorescence terminal, racemose, 2-14-flowered;  rachis 0.9-2.1 cm long, 0.5-0.7 mm diam., reddish-purple, hispid (glandular-hispid);  pedicels ascending or divergent, 6.5-14 mm long, 0.5-0.7 mm diam., hispid (glandular-hispid);  bracteoles inserted near the middle of the pedicel, linear to narrowly ovate, flat or often involute, 1.8-3 x 0.3-0.5 mm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, margin entire, both surfaces glabrous or slightly tomentose;  floral bracts narrowly ovate to ovate, revolute, 4.2-15 x 0.5-3.8 mm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, mucronate, margin entire, both surfaces glabrous.  Flowers 7-merous;  calyx 3-4.3 mm long;  tube 0.7-2 mm long, 2.2-3.5 mm in diam., orange, brown, red or maroon, glabrous;  lobes ovate to widely ovate, apex acute to acuminate, 2.5-3.3 x 2-3 mm, longest lobe 2.8-3.3 mm, margin ciliolate, abaxial surface glabrous;  corolla globose-campanulate, pink or red, petals obovate to widely obovate, 11-12 x 5.1-8.2 mm, margin distally ciliolate, lamina glabrous;  stamens included, alternately 5.4-6.8 and 7.1-9.2 mm long;  filaments tomentose;  anthers 1.5-1.9 mm long, 1-1.4 mm in diam., glabrous;  ovary glabrous;  style included, 9.5-10 mm long;  stigma 7-lobed.  Capsules depressed ellipsoid, 3.5-5 mm long, 6.3-11 mm diam., orange-brown, exocarp not separating from the valves;  seeds 0.9-1.4 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm diam.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Páramo de Tamá on the Colombia/Venezuela border, and the Sierra de Cocuy, Colombia, where it occurs primarily on sandstone outcrops and grass páramos, at 2400-3560 m elev.  Flowering specimens have been collected from October to June, fruiting specimens have been collected sporadically throughout the year.