Sphyrospermum venustum A. C. Smith, J. Washington Acad. Sci. 46(4): 113. 1956. Type. Ecuador. Bolívar: Between Chimborazo and Guaranda, 3000 m, 20 Sep 1954 (fl), Rauh & Hirsch 388 (holotype, US, photo NY neg. 11125).Terrestrial shrub to 50 cm tall; stem conspicuously swollen at the overlapping nodes, glabrous; twigs subterete, bluntly and broadly angled, nitid, glabrous. Leaves congested, fleshy and succulent when fresh but membranous and wrinkled when dry, elliptic-obovate, 12-20 x 4-10 mm, base obtuse, apex rounded, margin thickened, slightly recurved, lamina minutely puberulent all over when young, glabrate; obscurely 3(-5)-plinerved, midrib and lateral nerves slightly raised but inconspicuous, reticulate veinlets obscurely impressed; petiole inconspicuous, subterete, canaliculate above, hardly 1 mm long, glabrous. Inflorescence axillary, solitary, shorter than the leaves, subtended by a series of few, caducous, ovate bracts to 2 mm long; floral bract as above; pedicel terete, 0.5-1.5 mm long, glabrous, but often with tuft of glandular fimbriae at distal tip; bracteoles oblong to lanceolate, obtuse to acute, ca. 1-2 mm long, obscurely ciliolate, marginally glandular-fimbriate. Flowers 5-merous, with calyx ca. 3-3.5 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pilose; hypanthium cylindric, terete, ca. 1.5-2 mm long; limb spreading-campanulate, ca. 1.5 mm long; lobes deltate, acute, ca. 1 mm long, marginally glandular-fimbriate; sinuses rounded; corolla thin carnose, cylindric-urceolate, the base strongly contracted, ca. 8-10.5 mm long and 3.5-4 mm diam., glabrous, the lobes spreading with tips reflexed, deltate, acute, ca. 1-1.5 mm long; stamen 5, slightly shorter than corolla, ca. 6-9 mm long; filaments slightly sigmoid, ca. 2.5-4 mm long, glabrous except minutely puberulent within; anthers ca. 4-6 mm long; thecae ca. 1.8-2 mm long; tubules 2, distinct, ca. 2-3.2 mm long, dehiscing through oval rims ca. 1-2 mm long; style thin, equalling the corolla; nectariferous disc annular-pulvinate, glabrous. Berry ellipsoid, ca. 9 mm long and 7 mm diam., glabrous, light purple; seeds with mucilaginous sheath.
Distribution. Endemic to Ecuador; lower montane moist forest, premontane to montane cloud forest, at 750-3240 m altitude.
Cultivated: ABG, E, NCSC, NY.