Terrestrial shrub to 3 m tall;  mature stems terete, striate, glabrate;  bark reddish-brown, cracking longitudinally;  twigs subterete bluntly angled, striate, short-pilose with hairs less than 0.5 mm long, glabrate.  Leaves thick-coriaceous, subamplexicaul, somewhat bullate, ovate, oblong-ovate, 5-10 x 3-4.5 cm, basally rounded, cordate, the sinus deeper than the petiole is long, apically obtuse, rounded, or sometimes acute, marginally entire, glabrous above or weakly short-pilose along midrib, irregularly pilose to glabrate beneath with white hairs;  7(-9)-plinerved with upper pair of lateral nerves arising 1-2 cm above base, midrib thickened proximal 1-2 cm, impressed above and conspicuously raised beneath, lateral nerves arching, impressed above and conspicuously raised beneath, reticulate veinlets slightly raised above but obscure, raised beneath and obscure to prominent;  petiole subterete, rugose, 5-7 mm long, densely short-pilose above, glabrate.  Infloresence axillary, racemose, 35-50-flowered, very congested, nodes raised and conspicuous, apparently elongating and flowering over a long time period with only a few flowers open at any given time;  rachis subterete, coarsely and bluntly angled, rugose, 7-11 cm long and 2-3.5 mm diam., densely short-pilose with white hairs;  floral bract deeply concave, appressed against flower at anthesis then soon deciduous, ovate to elliptic, 10-12 x 8-10 mm, apically acute, densely cilate, short-pilose on exposed lamina surfaces especially distally, marginally sparsely glandular-fimbriate, green suffused with red when fresh;  pedicel terete, rugose, expanded just below articulation, ca. 3-4 mm long at anthers, elongating to 6-8 mm later, densely short-pilose;  bracteoles located along lower half of pedicel, ovate to elliptic, rounded but apiculate, ca. 3 mm long and wide, densely cilate, densely short-pilose on exposed lamina surface, marginally caducous glandular-fimbriate.  Flowers with calyx and corolla densely short-pilose;  calyx subcylindric, ca. 7 mm long;  hypanthium cylindric to barrel-shaped, 10-ribbed, ca. 3.5 mm long, about equal to the limb, basally rounded to truncate, nonapophysate, red when fresh;  limb cylindric, ca. 3.5 mm long, green when fresh;  lobes triangular, ca. 1 mm long, connivent after anthesis, marginally deciduously glandular-fimbriate;  sinuses broadly rounded;  corolla cylindric to slightly bottle-shaped, slightly narrow to throat, bluntly pertagonal, ca. 10 mm long and 5-6 mm diam., totally red when fresh, lobes triangular, ca. 1 mm long;  stamens ca. 7.5 mm long;  filaments with long one weakly pilose distally on ventral surface and short one glabrous, alternately ca. 2 mm and 1.5 mm long;  anthers alternately ca. 6 mm and 6.5 mm long;  thecae 3.5-4 mm long;  style glabrous, ca. 7.3 mm long.  Berry not seen.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Colombia and known only from the type area, along the roadside and edge of disturbed cloud forest.  Rare and endangered.