Terrestrial or epiphytic shrub, sometimes lianoid, with branches to 2 m long;  stem terete, glabrous;  twigs subterete, bluntly angled, striate or ribbed, nitid, glabrous;  bark blackish-red, exfoliating.  Leaves coriaceous, flat to bullate, ovate to elliptic-ovate, (2-)4-8(-11) x (1.3-)2.5-4.5(-6) cm, base rounded, broadly cuneate to subattenuate, rarely subcordate, apex bluntly acute, abruptly short-acuminate, or long-acuminate, margin entire and slightly recurved, glabrous but weakly glandular-fimbriate beneath;  5-7-plinerved from near the base, midrib thickened and raised in the proximal 1-2 cm then distally impressed above and raised beneath, lateral nerves impressed above and raised beneath, reticulate veinlets plane to slightly raised or impressed above and plane or raised beneath;  petiole subterete, carinate and narrowly winged above, rugose, 3-5 mm long, glabrous.  Inflorescence axillary, subfasciculate, 4-15-flowered;  rachis stout, less than 5 mm long;  floral bract ovate, acute, ca. 1-1.5 mm long;  pedicel subterete, striate to ribbed, 5-9 mm long;  bracteoles near middle, similar to floral bract, usually bearing at base dorsally 1-2 small, circular, concave to callos-thickened, blackish, nectariferous glands.  Flowers with calyx 3-6 mm long, glabrous;  hypanthium obprismatic, narrowly winged to sinuses, 2-4 mm long and in diam., the base truncate, the wings not extending beyond the limb margin;  limb campanulate-spreading, 1-2 mm long;  lobes triangular to deltate, acute, to 1 mm long;  sinuses rounded;  corolla carnose, subcylindric, sharply 5-angled to narrowly winged, 14-20 mm long and 3-6 mm diam. when dry, glabrous without but sparsely white-tomentose at throat within, the lobes ovate-triangular, acute or obtuse, 1-3 mm long;   stamen ca. 7-8 mm long;  filaments loosely connate into a tube, ca. 2.5-4 mm long, glabrous;  anthers ca. 5.2-6 mm long ;  thecae ca. 3-4 mm long;  tubules fused into one (septum sometimes visible), ca. 2 mm long, dehiscing by a cleft ca. 1.2-1.5 mm long;  style slightly exserted, to 20 mm long, glabrous.  Immature berry spherical, ca. 15 mm diam., translucent whitish-green.

    Distribution.  Colombia and Ecuador;  tropical moist forest, premontane wet and rainforest, to montane wet and rainforest at 350-2720 m altitude.

    Cultivated:  ABG, NCSC, NY.