Herbs up to 1 meter high, erect or ascending, often rooting at the lower nodes; stems usually more or less branched, subquadrangular, 4-sulcate, puberulous, or the lower portions glabrous, the hairs evenly disposed or more or less in 2 rows, retrorsely curved, up to 0.25 mm. long, white, the internodes up to 10 cm. long; leaf blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1 to 10 cm. long and 0.5 to 4 cm. wide, acute to acuminate (the tip itself blunt) or occasionally obtuse, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, ashy green (Cuatrecasas) or dark sea-green (Lehmann), entire or undulate, moderately firm, the upper surface glabrous or more or less hirsute, the hairs ascending, up to 1 mm. long, the costa often more or less appressed-pilosulous, the hairs 0.25 mm. long, the cystoliths usually conspicuous under a lens, the lower surface glabrous or nearly so except the costa and lateral veins (6 or 7 pairs), these prominent, pilosulous, the hairs subappressed or spreading, curved, up to 0.25 mm. long, the cystoliths few and obscure to numerous and conspicuous; petioles rather slender, up to 1.5 cm. long, more or less puberulous, the hairs curved, ascending or subap- pressed, up to 0.5 mm. long; spikes terminal, solitary or occasionally, in pairs, up to 8 cm. long and 8 to 15 mm. broad, densely bracted or the lower portions lax, the peduncles rather slender, up to 5 cm. long, puberulous, the hairs similar to those of the stems; bracts oblong- elliptic to ovate, up to 8 mm. long and 5 (usually 4) mm. wide, acute to obtuse and apiculate, narrowed at base, rather thin and subcharta- ceous, a bright nitid slate green ("empizarradas verde claras," Cuat- recasas), glabrous except the margins, these ciliate, the hairs spreading or ascending, up to 1.5 mm. long, the cystoliths usually prominent under a lens, the costa and lateral veins rather prominent; bractlets lanceolate, 5 to 6 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, acute and narrowed at base, in other respects similar to the bracts; calyx 4 to 5 mm. long, deeply segmented, the segments 4, narrowly lanceolate, 0.5 mm. wide near base, gradually narrowed, the costa and margins ciliate, the hairs ascending, up to 1 mm. long; corolla about 1 cm. long, white, pink or pale violet (the lobes sometimes a deeper pink or violet or the upper lip pink or violet and the lower whitish), moderately hirsute except the glabrous basal portion, the hairs about 0.25 mm. long, the tube 7 mm. long, 1.75 mm. broad near base, narrowed gradually to 1 mm. at 5.5 mm. above base, 1.75 mm. broad at mouth, the posterior lip erect, ovate, 4 mm. long, 2.5 mm. wide, acute, the lower lip spread- ing, 4 mm. long, 3-lobed, the middle lobe orbicular, about 3 mm. in diameter, the lateral lobes oblong-ovate, 3 mm. long and 1.5 mm. wide, rounded; stamens adnate to the throat of the corolla tube, the free filaments slender and glabrous, 3 mm. long, the adnate parts hirtellous, the anther lobes attached obliquely on the connec- tive, the larger of the lobes 0.75 mm. long, the smaller 0.5 mm. long; stigma 7.5 mm. long, the upper half glabrous, the lower hirtellous, the stigma narrowly lanceolate; capsule glabrous or sparsely pubes- cent, 7.5 mm. long, 3 mm. thick, 2 mm. broad, clavate, 4-seeded, the sterile solid basal stipitate portion 3 mm. long; retinacula ligulate, the basal portion about 0.5 mm. wide, the tip 0.25 mm. wide, flat and rounded; seeds ovoid, light brown, 1.5 mm. long and broad, about 0.5 mm. thick, papillose.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1770577, collected in dense forest at San Antonio, west of Cali, near summit of Cordillera Occidental, Department of El Valle, Colombia 1,900 to 2,350 meters altitude, February 26 to March 2, 1939, by E. P. Killip and Hernando García (No. 33671).

ANTIOQUIA: Damp open woods along the Camino Real Antiguo to Boquerón de Medellín, 2,500 meters altitude, Barkley, Correa & Pérez 102 (US). Woods at Las Palmas, between Medellín and El Retiro, Sarmiento 6 (GH, Med). Damp woods near Santa Elena, between Medellin and Rionegro, Barkley, Araque & Gómez 406 (US); Barkley, Scolnik & Ramirez 522 (US). Dryish area 3 km. west of Santa Fé de Antioquia, Scolnik, Barkley & Saiz 428 (US).
CALDAS: Forests west of Río Boquía, Salento, Killip & Hazen 8795 (GH, NY, US). Thicket along stream, Río San Raphael, below Cerro Tatamá, Pennell 10347 (GH).
CAUCA: Woods at Carpinterías, between Cerro Munchique and Cerro Altamira, Pérez-Arbeláez & Cuatrecasas 6183 (Col). Virgin forests near El Tambo, La Costa, von Sneidern 624 (S); 700 (8); 958 (S). La Gallera, Micay Valley, Killip 7684 (GH), 7786 (GH). Virgin forest near El Tambo, Munchique, von Sneidern 711 (S). Shady place on the plateau of Popayán, Lehmann 5601 (K). Rfo Munchique, Garcia-Barriga, Hawkes & Villarreal 12960 (US). Río Tambito, Cerro de Munchique, Pérez-Arbeláez & Cuatrecasas 6267 (US). Forest below San José, San Antonio, Pennell 7622 (GH, NY, US). Popayán, Yepes-Agredo 202 (US).
CUNDINAMARCA: Mesa, 700 meters altitude, September 1855, Triana s.n.
(Col).
EL VALLE: Dense forests of La Cumbre, Killip 5699 (NY, S, US); Pennell & Killip 5759 (GH, NY, US). Woods at La Elsa, valley of the Río Digua, Cuatre- casas 15303 (US). Monte La Guarida, above La Carbonera, between Las Brisas and Albán, Cuatrecasas 22210 (US). Woods, near La Laguna, valley of the Río Sanquininf, Cuatrecasas 15438 (US). Mount El Tabor, above Las Brisas, Cuatre- casas 22266 (US). La Trojita, along the Río Calima, Cuatrecasas 16444 (US). Between La Elsa and Río Blanco, Río Digua Valley, Killip 35666 (US). TOLIMA: Forests of Líbano, Pennell 3397 (GH, NY, US).
VAUPÉS: Soratama, between the Ríos Pacoa and Kananari, Schultes & Cabrera 12703 (US).
WITHOUT LOCALITY: Pennell & Killip 12131 (NY, US).
Endemic. The species is usually found in more or less damp forests from 1,000 to 2,500 meters altitude. It has, however, been found as low as 5 to 50 meters (Cuatrecasas 16444). The color of the corolla varies considerably, from white through pink or purplish. Pennell gives a detailed description of the corolla of his No. 10347 while still fresh: "Corolla: 2 posterior lobes arched and united (apex acute, erect, distally purple); 3 anterior lobes of equal length, proximally white, distally phlox-pink; throat anteriorly 2-ridged and with hori- zontal processes white, with horizontal radiating areas on the ridges of phlox-purple." The specific epithet comes from xλwpós, green, and στάχυς, spike.