Shrub up to 2 meters high; stems subterete, glabrous, or the upper- most portions sparingly puberulous; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, 9 to 16 cm. long, 2.5 to 5 cm. wide, rather slenderly acuminate, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, entire, the upper surface sub- glabrous bearing a few scattered stout-based hairs, except on the costa and lateral veins (8 to 10 pairs), these sparingly hirsute, the hairs up to 0.5 mm. long, straight and spreading, the lower surface drying a lighter olive than the upper, puberulous, the hairs borne on the costa and veins barely 0.5 mm. long, the others much smaller; petioles (unwinged portion) 1 to 2 cm. long, including the winged portion up to 6 cm. long, finely puberulous; spikes 1 to several, terminal and subterminal, including flowers up to about 12 cm. long and 2.5 cm. broad, bracts ascending to appressed, the rachis finely and densely white-pilose, some of the hairs gland-tipped; terminal spike subsessile, the peduncles of the lateral ones up to 2 cm. long, densely puberulous; bracts lanceolate, 15 mm. long and 10 mm. wide or the lowermost as much as 3 cm. long and 12 mm. wide, acute to acuminate, densely white- glandular-pilose, the hairs 0.5 to 2 mm. long, straight and spreading; bractlets lanceolate, 18 mm. long, 3.5 mm. wide, acuminate, glandular- pilose;
lip erect, elliptic, 17 mm. long, 10 mm. wide, emarginate, the notch about 1 mm. deep, the lower lip spreading, the middle lobe oval, about 2 cm. long and 13 mm. wide, the lateral ones oblong, 1 cm. long and 4 mm. wide, all rounded; stamens slightly exserted beyond the upper lip; anthers 5.5 mm. long, slightly webby-pilose and adhering at their tips, the filaments pubescent or the upper portions of the two longer ones glabrous; ovary glabrous; capsules not seen.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1708676, collected in forest near stream above Manaure, Department of Magdalena, Colom- bia, 800 meters altitude, January 16, 1944, by Oscar Haught (No. 3944). Aphelandra phlogea is probably related to A. anomala although the two species bear little resemblance to each other. A. phlogea is char- acterized by its bright, flame-colored corollas and by its rather large, lanceolate, glandular-pilose bracts. Haught states in a note accom- panying the type specimen that the flowers are very showy. The name phlogea (póyeos), flame-color, alludes to these brightly colored corollas.