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Family: Acanthaceae
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Suffrutescent, up to 2 meters high; stems subquadrangular with rounded angles, hirtellous, the hairs retrorsely curved, up to 0.5 mm. long, more or less bifariously arranged; leaf blades oblong-ovate or oblong-elliptic, up to 6 em. long and 2.5 cm. wide, acute to short- acuminate, narrowed at base to an obtusish lobulate base, rather firm, entire, the margins recurved, the upper surface glabrous or nearly so except the costa and lateral veins (about 6 pairs), these moderately hirtellous with mostly curved ascending hairs up to 0.5 mm. long, the lower surface glabrous or the venation sparingly and finely pubescent, both surfaces more or less bullate, the cystoliths obscure or lacking; petioles up to 2 mm. long, hirtellous; flowers secund, borne in terminal panicles of short loose racemes (up to 2 cm. long and broad), the peduncles up to 2 cm. long, subquadrangular, pilose, the hairs spreading or retrorse, up to 0.5 mm. long, whitish, the lowermost internodes of the panicle about as long as the peduncles, the others successively shorter toward the tip of the panicle, the pedicels 1 to 1.5 mm. long, more or less hirtellous; bracts triangular, 2 mm. long and 1 mm. wide at base, acute, ciliolate, the hairs about 0.5 mm. long; bractlets similar to the bracts but slightly narrower and longer; calyx campanulate, about 13 mm. long, glabrous or bearing a few hairs at tips of the segments, usually 3-parted, the 3 posterior segments adnate (except sometimes at tip) forming an ovate-elliptic segment 6 mm. wide, this acute, the 2 anterior segments separate nearly to base of calyx, lanceolate, 3 mm. wide near base, acute; corolla 3.5 to 4 cm. long, yellow, puberulous, the tube 4 mm. broad at base, narrowed to 2 mm. at 5 mm. above base, thence gradually enlarged to 7 mm. at mouth, the lips subequal, ciliolate, 17 mm. long, the upper lip elliptic, 6 mm. wide, bilobed at tip, the lobes triangular, acute, about 1 mm. long and broad, incurved, the lower lip 3-lobed, about 8 mm. wide near base of lobes, these elliptic, 4.5 mm. long, 2.5 mm. wide, obtuse, apiculate; stamens exserted slightly beyond the mouth of the corolla tube, the anther lobes slightly superposed, 3 mm. long, 1 mm. broad, glabrous, the lower lobe calcarate at base, the filaments glabrous; pistil reaching the tips of the corolla lips; ovary glabrous; capsules not seen. Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1850755, collected in woods between Alto del Loro and Alto de Santa Inés, Sarare Region, Department of Norte de Santander, Colombia, 1,800 to 2,200 meters altitude, October 18-21, 1941, by J. Cuatrecasas, R. E. Schultes & E. Smith (No. 12511). Kalbryer's No. 1171 (K), collected in forest between Ocaña and Pamplona, Department of Norte de Santander, is also of this species. The loose paniculate inflorescence of pedicelled yellow flowers, the relatively large campanulate irregular calyces and the firm subbullate leaf blades of Justicia fuchsiifolia mark it as an easily recognized species. It apparently has no close relatives. |