Shrub to 1.5 m tall;  stem subterete, striate, glabrous;  twigs subterete, complanate, bluntly angled, grayish- or whitish-puberulent or grayish-hispidulous, glabrate, also bearing glandular-fimbriae.  Leaves crisp-coriaceous to subcoriaceous, ovate-elliptic, 2-3.7 x 1-2 cm, base rounded or subcordate, apex narrowed and shortly acuminate, margin slightly revolute, pale puberulent but glabrate above, grayish-hispid along the midrib and glandular-fimbriate beneath and also with a persistent, blackish scurfy type of scale beneath (also on rachis);  3-plinerved from the base, midrib slightly impressed above and strongly raised beneath, lateral nerves and reticulate veinlets slightly impressed above;  petiole subterete, 2-3 mm long, hispidulous, glabrate.  Inflorescence axillary, short-racemose, 3-10-flowered, surrounded at base by numerous, ovate, subacute, 1-2 mm long bracts;  rachis thin, 5-10 mm long, hispidulous with pale hairs 0.2-0.3 mm long;  floral bracts ovate, subacute, 1-2 mm long;  pedicel thin, 7-11 mm long, hispidulous as rachis;  bracteoles near middle, ca. 1.5 mm long.  Flowers with calyx ca. 5-5.5 mm long, hispidulous;  hypanthium obconic, strongly 5-angled, ca. 3 mm long;  limb campanulate, suberect, ca. 1.5-1.6 mm long;  lobes ovate to deltate-cuspidate, ca. 1 mm long;  sinuses obtuse or acute;  corolla carnose, subcylindric, 7.5-8 mm long and 3.5-4 mm diam. at the base, red with paler lobes, hispidulous with pale hairs ca. 0.5 mm long, the lobes deltate, subacute, 1-1.5 mm long;  stamen 10, shorter than corolla, ca. 6.5-7 mm long;  filaments distinct, ca. 2 mm long, sparsely hispidulous with hairs 0.5 mm long;  anthers 4.5-5.5 mm long;  thecae 1.5-2 mm long;  tubules longer than thecae, ca. 3-3.5 mm long, dehiscing through clefts ca. 1 mm long;  nectariferous disc annular-pulvinate, hispidulous;  style terete, equal to corolla.  Berry not seen.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Ecuador (Azuay);  montane cloud forest, subpáramo to páramo at 2743-3445 m altitude.

    Local name:  tira.