Terrestrial shrub to ca. 1 m tall from lignotuber or epiphytic;  stem terete, striate, short-pilose, glabrate;  the bark cracking into small longitudinal strips;  twigs terete, densely pilose with pale yellowish or whitish spreading hairs ca. 1 mm long, persistent or glabrate.  Leaves oriented downwards, coriaceous and brittle to subcoriaceous, ovate, 2-3.5 x 1.5-2.5 cm, base rounded and usually subcordate, apex short-acuminate to acute and callose-apiculate, margin entire and thickened at the recurved edge, densely soft-pilose on both surfaces, but glabrate above;  5(-7)-plinerved from near base, the midrib plane to slightly raised above and beneath, lateral nerves arcuate-ascending, plane to slightly raised but often inconspicuous on both surfaces, reticulate veinlets slightly raised or subimmersed above and slightly raised beneath but inconspicuous on both surfaces;  petiole subterete, flattened above, rugose, 2-5 mm long, densely pilose.  Inflorescences axillary, solitary, 1-flowered, subtended by numerous (at least 30), imbricate bracts concealing the calyx, the outer largest ones leaf-like, subcoriaceous, strap-shaped to narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, to 17 x 5 mm, the inner papyraceous, triangular, acute, a few mm long and broad, all bracts densely spreading-pilose like the leaves;  floral bract oblong, obtuse to rounded, ca. 4.5 x 4 mm, glabrous but margin densely pilose;  pedicel none;  bracteoles ovate, acuminate, ca. 4.5 x 2 mm, pilose as floral bract.  Flowers sessile with the calyx articulate with the pedicel, 6-7 mm long;  hypanthium obconical, smooth, ca. 3.3 mm long, tapering at base, short-pilose to faintly puberulent with appressed hairs;  limb suberect, ca. 3.7 mm long, lobed nearly to base;  lobes nerved, elongate-deltate, acute, 3-4 x 1.5-2 mm, densely pilose at margins;  sinuses acute;  corolla thin-carnose, cylindric, narrowing distally, 10-11 mm long and 3-5 mm diam., red, glabrous at base where covered by calyx but short-pilose with appressed hairs to puberulent without, the lobes deltate, obtuse to acute, ca. 1 mm long;  stamen slightly shorter than the corolla, ca. 9 mm long;  filaments connate into a tube ca. 2.5-3.5 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pilose distally;  anthers 5-6 mm long;  thecae smooth, ca. 3 mm long, the base strongly but shortly mucronate;  tubules slightly shorter than thecae, distinct to base, ca. 2.5 mm long, dehiscing by clefts ca. 1.5 mm long;  nectariferous disc conspicuous, pulvinate, glabrous;  style filiform, nearly as long as the corolla.  Berry spherical, ca. 8 mm diam., pilose, the calyx lobes persistent and strongly reflexed.

    Distribution.  Endemic to Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe), and known only from three collections;  montane cloud forest at 2000-3000 m altitude.