Herbs up to 30 cm. high, erect or ascending; stems more or less branched, subquadrangular, up to 1.75 mm. thick, hirtellous, the hairs fine, more or less retrorsely curved, whitish, up to 0.38 mm. long; leaf blades ovate, oblong or elliptic, up to 5 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, acute and cuspidate at tip, the cusp up to 1 mm. long, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, moderately firm, entire, both surfaces moderately and evenly hirtellous, the hairs on the costa and lateral veins (5 or 6 pairs) up to 0.67 mm. long, straight or slightly curved, spreading or ascending, the cystoliths obscure; petioles up to 0.5 cm. long, hirtellous, the hairs ca. 0.38 mm. long, curved; flowers borne in terminal and axillary panicles of dense straight or slightly curved, more or less 1-sided spikes, these up to 2 cm. long and 8 mm. broad, the lowermost internodes about 1.5 mm. long, hirtellous, the others successively shorter toward tip of spike, the panicles subtended by small leaves, the bracts linear-subulate, 7 mm. long, 0.4 mm. wide, gradually narrowed to a whitish aristate tip 1 mm. long, ciliate and rather sparingly hirtellous, the hairs up to 0.67 mm. long, slightly curved and ascending; calyx segments 1 cm. long, in other respects similar to the bracts; corolla 13 mm. long, finely pubescent except at base, the hairs retrorsely curved, up to 0.28 mm. long, the tube nar
rowly cylindric, 0.75 mm. broad, the throat 1 mm. broad, the upper lip narrowly ovate, 2.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide at base, emarginate at tip, the lower lip 3-parted nearly to base, the lobes obovate, about 3 mm. long, the middle lobe 2 mm. wide, the lateral lobes 1.5 mm. wide, all obtuse; stamens glabrous, exserted 2.5 mm. beyond the mouth of the corolla, the upper anther lobe 0.75 mm. long, 0.5 mm. broad, the lower anther lobe affixed 0.5 mm. below the upper, sterile and reduced; capsule clavate, 5 mm. long, about 2 mm. broad and 1 mm. thick, minutely pubescent, the hairs up to 0.08 mm. long, retrorsely ascend- ing; seed (immature) papillose.
Type in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden, collected at edge of thicket in Buenavista, east of Sincé, Department of Bolívar, Colombia, 100 to 200 meters altitude, January 24, 1918, by Francis W. Pennell (No. 3985). Isotype in the Gray Herbarium.
Pennell's No. 4236 (NY), collected in a forest at Boca Verde, on the Río Sinú, Department of Bolívar, Colombia, 100 to 300 meters altitude, February 13-14, 1918, is also of this species.
The specific epithet is from the Greek Aeuxós, white, and avos, flower.