Semiprostrate to erect shrub, 0.3-2 m tall;  mature stem subterete, striate, slightly ribbed, glabrous;  bark cracking longitudinally, dark grayish-red;  twigs subterete, striate, ribbed, shortly white puberulent, also hirsute with thin, straight, ferruginous, gland-tipped hairs to 1 mm long;  buds terete, ovoid, to ca. 3 mm long, scales numerous, ovate, acute to rounded, striate, puberulent and ciliolate, reddish-brown.  Leaves coriaceous, erect and somewhat clasping the stem, ovate, (1.7-)2.6-4.5 x (1.2-)2-3.5(-4) cm, base rounded, strongly cordate, apex short-acuminate with a blunt, glandular mucro, minutely serrate and also sometimes irregularly crenate, with each tooth terminating in a deciduous, basally swollen, gland-tipped hair ca. 0.5 mm long, lamina short-hirsute above with gland-tipped hairs 0.2-0.4 mm long, densely tomentose to somewhat floccose-tomentose beneath with soft, crisped, ferruginous, eglandular hairs to 2 mm long, sometimes glabrate;  midrib, lateral nerves (3-4 per side), and reticulate veinlets all conspicuous and impressed above and slightly raised beneath;  petiole subterete, slightly flattened above, rugose, papillate, 2-4 mm long, tomentose as the leaves.  Inflorescence axillary, racemose, 8-16-flowered, surrounded at the base by numerous, striate, ovate to ovate-elliptic, acute to rounded, scarious and densely ciliolate, dorsally sparsely white pilose bracts to ca. 8 mm long;  rachis subterete, relatively thin, 1.5-5.5 cm long, densely white puberulent, also densely hirsute with thin, straight to somewhat crisped, ferruginous, gland-tipped hairs to ca. 1 mm long;  pedicels subterete, 7-14 mm long, puberulent and glandular pubescent as rachis;  bracteoles spreading, located near base to just below middle of pedicel, subopposite (to 2 mm apart), striate, narrowly elliptic-ovate, 3.5-6 x 1-1.3 mm, acuminate, dorsally and marginally glandular pubescent;  floral bract spreading to reflexed, striate, cochleariform, ovate-elliptic to oblanceolate, (6-)8-11 x 4-7 mm, acute to acuminate, ciliolate and marginally glandular pubescent, lamina dorsally glabrate to moderately appressed pubescent with ferruginous, minutely gland-tipped hairs.  Calyx 6-8 mm long, white puberulent basally, also densely pubescent with thin, straight to somewhat crisped, ferruginous, gland-tipped hairs as rachis, lobes narrowly triangular to triangular-ovate, 4-6 x 2-3 mm, long-acuminate, ciliolate but not puberulent on lamina, landular-pubescent as calyx proper, glabrous within distally;  corolla urceolate to urceolate-cylindric, terete to slightly angled, (6-)8-9 x 5-7 mm, sparsely pilose in basal half, also densely hirsute to somewhat strigose with thin, straight, ferruginous, minutely gland-tipped hairs to 1 mm long, glabrous to sparsely pilose within, whitish to pale or dark pink to deep rose when fresh, lobes ovate, 1-1.5 mm long, obtuse;  stamens 5-6 mm long;  filaments 3.5-4.5 mm long, pilose;  anthers 2.7-3.5 mm long, awns short but conspicuous;  ovary densely short-pilose;  style ca. 5 mm long.  Fruiting calyx not mature, but at least 6 mm diam, seemingly blue-black.

     Distribution (Map).  Endemic to Colombia and know only from the departments of Santander and Norte de Santander, in open páramo at (2500-)2800-3900(-4100) m.  Flowering seemingly throughout the year;  fruiting specimens have only been collected in Jan, May, and Aug.  Rare and endangered.