Terrestrial or epiphytic shrub to 2 m tall;  stem glabrate;  twigs complanate, hispid with pale tan hairs ca. 1 mm long;  vegetative bracts coriaceous, often persistent, striate, reddish-brown, oblong, to 2.5 cm long.  Leaves thickly coriaceous, elliptic, lance-elliptic, narrowly oblong-elliptic, or oblanceolate, (7-)10-25(-30) x 3-10(-15.5) cm, base obtuse or cuneate, apex short-acuminate often abruptly, margin slightly revolute, glabrous above but moderately to densely hispid beneath with hairs ca. 1 mm long;  3-7-plinerved, midrib impressed above and conspicuously raised beneath, lateral nerves arising at or 1-4 cm above base, plane to impressed above but raised beneath, reticulate veinlets slightly raised on both surfaces;  petiole 8-15 mm long, hispid.  Inflorescence cylindric, ca. 25-50-flowered, surrounded at base by numerous, subcoriaceous, striate, often ciliate, ovate to oblong-obovate bracts to 2 cm long;  rachis glabrous or pilose at the conspicuously thickened nodes, 4-6(-10) cm long;  floral bracts: those of proximal 1/5-1/3 of the inflorescence subtending sterile nodes, moderately spaced, completely glabrous, glabrous but ciliate, pilose dorsally, or densely pilose dorsally and weakly pilose ventrally, those of distal 4/5-2/3 subtending fertile nodes, membranous, striate, glabrous, oblong-obovte, 25-30 x 10-13 mm, apex rounded and emarginate, distal 2-3 mm of lamina often reflexed at anthesis, densely but inconspicuously and deciduosly glandular-fimbriate dorsally, wine-red to carmen often white basally;  pedicel 0-1.3 mm long;  bracteoles usually lacking but in one population oblong, 4-10 x 1-2 mm, ciliate and marginally glandular-fimbriate.  Flowers with calyx (10-)13-16(-20) mm long, glabrous to densely pilose, usually glandular-fimbriate;  hypanthium barrel-shaped, 2.5-4 mm long, basally truncate;  limb somewhat infundibuliform, (7-)10-15(-17) mm long;  lobes narrowly triangular, acute, 3-6(-8) mm long, margin glandular-fimbriate, usually ciliate;  sinuses obtuse;  corolla cylindric, (20-)30-37 mm long, glabrous, the lobes deltate to ca. 3 mm long;  stamen alternately 9-16.5 mm and 11-18 mm long;  filaments glabrous or marginally pilose medially, alternately 1-3.5 mm and 3-6.5 mm long;  anthers alternately 9-15.2 mm and 8-11.2 mm long;  thecae 3-5 mm long;  tubules dehiscing by short oval oblique pores 0.5-1 mm long;  style to 40 mm long.  Berry ca. 15 mm diam.

    Distribution (Map).  Colombia and Ecuador;  tropical moist and wet forest to premontane wet forest at 450-2100 m altitude.

    Uses:  Cultivated at ABG, NCSC, NY.