Dull green branching herbs; stems subhexagonal, the angles rounded, the tips puberulous, the lower portions glabrous, the base of the plant 7 mm. in diameter or more; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, acute or acuminate, narrowed at base and briefly decurrent on the petiole, thin, entire or undulate, ciliolate, the upper surface glabrous (or bearing a few minute hairs) except the costa, this puberulous and like the lateral veins (4 or 5 pairs) obscure, the cystoliths inconspicuous, the lower surface glabrous or bearing a few scattered minute hairs, the venation moderately conspicuous, the cystoliths conspicuous under a lens but not numerous; petioles slender, up to 4 cm. long, glabrous beneath, the channel puberulous with curved hairs; flowers borne in axillary and terminal capitula, the uppermost confluent, forming a narrow spike-like thyrse, the peduncles up to 5 mm. long, or the lowermost longer, puberulous, the hairs retrorsely curved; bracts subtending the cymes leaflike, lanceolate, about 10 mm. long and 2.5 mm. wide; bracts at base of cymules lance-subulate, usually up to 2.5 mm. long and 0.75 mm. wide at base, acuminate and 1-nerved, the pair of larger and outer bracts subtending and enclosing the cymules oblanceolate, the posterior bract 13 mm. long and 4 mm. wide slightly above middle, subobtuse and tipped by a spine about 1 mm. long, gradually narrowed from above middle to base (the base 2 mm. wide), firm, green, or whitish at base, glabrous or puberulous, ciliolate or both ciliolate and sparingly ciliate, the longer hairs up to 1 mm. long, the anterior bract similar but somewhat smaller, the inner bracts narrowly lanceolate, 7 mm. long, 1.25 mm. wide, whitish except toward tip, finely ciliolate, faintly 1-nerved; calyx segments narrowly triangular, 3 mm. long, 1 mm. wide at base, faintly 3-nerved, white; corollas and capsules not seen.

Type in the U. S. National Herbarium No. 1853821, collected near the confluence of the Río Pichindecito and the Río Pichindé, valley of the Río Cali, Department of El Valle, Colombia, 1,580 to 1,640 meters altitude, November 7, 1944, by J. Cuatrecasas (No. 18783).
Dicliptera cuatrecasasii, as represented by the type specimen, is very robust for the genus. It is nearly glabrous and the entire plant is dull green in color. Many of the larger bracts subtending the cymules are merely ciliolate but others bear in addition to the minute marginal hairs a few or sometimes mumerous long spreading
ones.