Erect herbs or suffrutescent plants probably up to 1 meter high or more; stems subquadrangular, glabrous, the cystoliths numerous and parallel, up to 0.25 mm. long, conspicuous under a lens; leaf blades ovate, up to 17 cm. long and 9 cm. wide (the uppermost pair sub- orbicular, about 6 cm. in diameter), short-acuminate (the tip itself blunt), obtuse at base, entire or undulate, rather thin, minutely hirtel- lous, the hairs up to 0.3 mm. long, ascending, confined chiefly to costa and veins, the venation (lateral veins usually 12 pairs) prominent, the cystoliths obscure, blackish; petioles up to 5 cm. long, or those of the uppermost pair 1 cm. long, 1.5 to 2 mm. thick, glabrous or the channels sparingly hirtellous, the cystoliths similar to those of the stem; panicle terminal, dense and conical, about 13 cm. long and 7 cm. broad, the 3 nodes below the dense flowering portion of the inflorescence bearing sterile inflorescence branches about 1 cm. long, the upper leaves sub- tending similar branches up to 4 cm. long, the branches of the panicles forming helicoid cymes, the rachis and rachilla glabrous, bearing numerous cystoliths like those of the stems, the pedicels erect, about 2 mm. long, glabrous; calyx segments linear, 6.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide at base, acute, glabrous or bearing occasionally a few minute acute hairs at tip, the cystoliths conspicuous under a lens; bracts subtending the branches of the panicle suborbicular, sessile, about 5 mm. in diameter, glabrous, the ultimate bracts ovate-lanceolate, 3 mm. long and 1 mm. wide near base, acute, glabrous; corolla wine-red, glabrous, the tube 17 mm. long, 4.5 mm. broad near base, narrowed at 7 mm. above base to 3 mm., thence enlarged to 6 mm. at mouth, the upper lip erect, narrowly linear, 12 mm. long, 1.25 mm. wide, delicately 3-nerved, obtuse at tip, coiled or contorted when dry, the lower lip spreading, ovate, 12 mm. long, 10 mm. wide, conduplicate, rounded and 3-lobed at tip, the lobes 1 mm. long and wide, rounded; stamens exserted 1 to 2 cm. beyond the mouth of the corolla tube, glabrous, the anthers 6 mm. long and 1.5 mm. thick, muticous at both ends; style exserted about 2 cm. beyond mouth of the corolla tube, the stigmas minute and rounded; ovary glabrous; capsules not seen. Type in the National Herbarium of Colombia, collected at Planada de Minchoy, between Sachamates and San Francisco de Sibundoy, Comisaría del Putumayo, Colombia, 2,100 meters altitude, December 30, 1940, by J. Cuatrecasas (No. 11435).
The specific epithet is from the Greek áyλaós, meaning bright or beautiful.