Suffrutescent plants up to 3 meters high; stems subquadrangular, glabrous or sparingly and bifariously strigose, the hairs more or less curved; leaf blades oblong-elliptic to broadly lanceolate, ca. 28 cm. long, 8 cm. wide, acute to short-acuminate, narrowed at base, firm, entire or shallowly undulate, glabrous, the costa and lateral veins (10 to 15 pairs) prominent beneath, obscure above, the cystoliths numerous and rather prominent under a lens, up to 0.3 mm. long; petioles stout, up to 1.5 cm. long and 2 mm. in diameter, glabrous or minutely strigose; inflorescence a terminal panicle composed of several unilateral spikes up to 12 cm. long and about 1 cm. wide, the peduncles up to 2 cm. long, densely and more or less bifariously hirsute, the hairs curved, about 0.3 mm. long, brownish or purple, the rachis similarly hirsute or some of the hairs spreading and glandular; bracts and bractlets subequal, lanceolate, the inner surface glabrous or hirsute toward tip, the outer surface moderately hirsute, the hairs yellowish brown, about 0.5 mm. long, the margins ciliate with ascending hairs, the bracts 18 mm. long and 3 mm. wide near base, acute, the bractlets slightly longer than the bracts, 1 to 2 mm. wide, acuminate, both bracts and bractlets ob- scurely nerved; calyx 17 mm. long, the segments 5, lanceolate, 15 mm. long, 2 mm. wide at middle, gradually narrowed to a slender tip, strigose within, hirtellous without, the hairs yellowish, about 0.3 mm. long, the costa and lateral veins obscure; corolla 6.5 cm. long, pale purple ("cárdeno pálida," Cuatrecasas) or bright rose (Klug), the tube rather gradually ampliate upwardly, the basal portion (5 mm. long) 2 mm. in diameter, thence expanding to 6 mm. at throat, sparingly and finely pubescent, some of the hairs glandular, the upper lip erect, oblong-ovate, up to 37 mm. long and 8 mm. wide near base, gradually narrowed to 2 mm. at the rounded subtruncate tip, the lower lip spreading, 7 mm. wide near tip, gradually narrowed to 5 mm. at base, the 3 lobes ovate, 4 mm. long and 3 mm. wide, rounded; stamens reaching to 7 mm. below tip of the upper lip of the corolla, the fila- ments flat, glabrous or sparingly and minutely hirtellous toward base, the anther cells slightly superposed, 2.5 mm. long, 1.25 mm. broad, caudate at base, the tails whitish, about 0.5 mm. long; pistil extending about 5 mm. beyond the stamens, the stigma capitate; Ovary glabrous. Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1798530, collected in the wet forests along the Río Putumayo at Puerto Ospina, Comisaría of Putamayo, Colombia, 230 meters altitude, November 14, 1940, by J. Cuatrecasas (No. 10581).
CAQUETA: Florencia, December 1930 Pérez-Arbeláez 746 (US).
PUTUMAYO: Forests at Umbría, 325 meters altitude, October to November, 1930, Klug 1693 (US). Mocoa, May 23, 1899, Sprague 387 (K).
SANTANDER: San Gil, Apolinar-Maria 92 (GH). Forests of Soto, Schlim 1093 (K).

Justicia sanchezioides is easily recognized by its inflorescence of unilateral spikes, the narrow bracts and bractlets (these similar), the large pink flowers, and large glabrous leaf blades.