Erect shrub to 1 m tall;  mature stems terete, striate, glabrous;  bark thin, cracking longitudinally, reddish-brown;  twigs subterete, often ribbed beneath nodes, glabrous;  buds minute, ovate, scales glabrous,  reddish-brown. Leaves coriaceous, sharply ascending, narrowly elliptic, ovate-elliptic, or ovate, (1.5-)2.5-5 x (0.5-)0.9-1.8 cm, base narrowly rounded, obtuse, or broadly cuneate, apex acuminate, sharply short-mucronate, margin shortly and broadly serrate with each tooth terminating in a conspicuous, short, callose-thickened hair ca. 0.1 mm long, glabrous on both surfaces;  midrib raised and conspicuous on both surfaces, lateral nerves (ca. 3-9 per side) slightly to conspicuously raised on both surfaces and collectively forming a conspicuous, elevated, marginal nerve running entire length of lamina, reticulate veinlets slightly raised and conspicuous on both surfaces;  petiole subterete, flattened above, 2-4 mm long, glabrous.  Inflorescence axillary, racemose, 8-30-flowered, congested near branch tips, basally bracteate with few, scattered, sterile, ovate-elliptic bracts to ca. 4 mm long;  rachis subterete, angled, striate, 4-13 cm long, densely to moderately puberulent with eglandular hairs (also with a few, scattered, stout, capitate, gland-tipped hairs ca. 0.2 mm long);  pedicels subterete, ribbed, striate, (5-)8-11 mm long at anthesis, lengthening to ca. 18 mm long post anthesis, pubescent as on rachis;  bracteoles 2, nearly basal, appressed, ovate-elliptic, 2.5-4 x ca. 1.5 mm, ciliolate, remotely crenate and rarely marginally glandular-fimbriate;  floral bract conspicuously articulate with pedicel, strongly keeled, conspicuously veined, ± conduplicate, ovate, 4-7 x 1.5-2 mm, acute to short-acuminate, ciliolate, crenate with each tooth terminating in a gland-tipped hair.  Flowers with calyx 5-6 mm long, lobes cleft to base and not imbricate, often strongly keeled in basal half, linear- to elliptic-ovate, 4-5 x 1.3-1.5 mm, acuminate, ciliolate, glabrous on lamina without but puberulent within, remotely crenate with each tooth terminating in a short, gland-tipped hair;  corolla cylindric-urceolate, 5-ribbed (probably pentagonal when fresh), 5-7 x ca. 4 mm, glabrous without but medially short-pilose within, red (type collection) to white (fide Kinoshita-Gouvêa, 1981) when fresh, lobes oblong, ca. 1.5 mm long, obtuse;  stamens 4.8-5 mm long; filaments ca. 3.2 mm long, glabrous;  anthers 2-2.2 mm long, thecae slightly elongated and narrowed into short tubules, awns virtually nonexistent, but vestigial spurs apparent at base of connective;  ovary glabrous;  style ca. 3.5 mm long, glabrous.  Fruiting calyx remaining membranous (i.e., not becoming fleshy and surrounding the capsule), capsule itself with slightly thickened sutures and apparently opening from apex downwards.

     Distribution (General map;  Brazil).  Endemic to Brazil, from Serra da Bocaina (São Paulo), where it is only known from five collections.  The plants are reported to grow at the edge of gallery forest in "campo seco" at elevations from 1600 to 1700 m.  Flowering and fruiting seem to occur Oct-Jan.  Rare and endangered.