Shrub;  older branches terete, longitudinally striate, subglabrous, the youngest densely grayish-hairy.  Leaves subcoriaceous, densely congested, more or less covering each other, broadly ovate, broadest below the middle, short-petiolate, 4.5-8 x 3-4.5 cm, base strongly cordate, apex subrounded, margin entire, subnitid all over, at first all over or except along the nerves with scattered, laxly long white hairs, rarely glabrate;  midrib and lateral nerves distinctly impressed above, prominent beneath, the two outer lateral nerves and the midrib arising from the base, the inner 1-2 pairs of lateral nerves united with the midrib, all arcuate-ascending, curved and joined near the margin itself, veins subobscure above, strongly and very laxly prominently reticulate beneath, reticulate veinlets slightly raised beneath;  petiole strongly thickened, ca. 4 mm long, subpubescent.  Inflorescence axillary, subfasciculate, with ca. 4-8, subsessile flowers which are tomentose all over with light brown hairs, surrounded at the base with numerous, ovate, tomentose bracts equalling the pedicel in length;  pedicel very short, thick, hardly 2-3 mm long.  Flowers with calyx continuous with pedicel, 4 mm long, obconic;  hypanthium tubular and obscurely 5-angled;  limb very shortly 5-lobed;  lobes broadly deltate, 1.5 mm long;  corolla subcylindric, carnose, little inflated at the base, strongly 5-angled, 1.3 cm long and 0.4 cm diam., densely yellowish-gray tomentose without and pilosulose at the extreme apex within, the lobes 5, short;  stamen 10, equal, 9 mm long;  filaments connate at base, 1.8 mm long, glabrous;  thecae granular, almost 5 mm long;  tubule 1, elongate-conic, 3.5 mm long, dehiscing through an introrse cleft almost 2 mm long;  style filiform, subequalling the corolla.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Ecuador, but see Luteyn (1996).