Shrub or suffrutescent herb to 2.5 m tall, rarely small tree to 4 m. Stem erect, sparingly branched, obscurely quadrangular toward tip, sparingly pubescent to glabrate, lower portion of stem terete, light grayish-green. Petiole 4-7 mm long, pubescence similar to primary vein; blade ovate to oblong-elliptic, 15-24 x 5-9 cm, apex short acuminate (tip itself blunt or apiculate to slightly acute), base attenuate, decurrent on the petiole, glabrous or nearly so on upper surface, glabrous to sparingly pubescent on lower surface, this mostly on primary and secondary veins, these disposed in web-like manner, upper surface drying olive, lower surface drying lighter green, margin entire, undulate or shallowly crenulate. Inflorescence terminal, spikes solitary or several in a fascicle, quadrangular, 5-7 x 0.6-0.8 cm, subsessile; rachis white-cottony-tomentose; bracts densely imbricate, rhombic-ovate, 5-7 x 4.5-6 mm, apex acute, margin entire, green, glabrous or softly pubescent dorsally, paired bracteal nectary patches lateral and submedial, composed of 1-5 discrete glands, each gland 0.25 x 0.75 mm; bracteoles lanceolate, 6-7 x 2 mm, falcate, obliquely subcarinate, puberulous without, finely striate-veined. Calyx 7-8 mm long, posterior lobe oblong, 3 mm wide, anterior pair 1.5 mm wide, lateral pair lanceolate, 2 mm wide, all striate-veined; corolla strongly bilipped, lateral lobes of lower lip much reduced, adnate to basal portion of upper lip with only their tips free, bright red or scarlet, 55-70 mm long, minutely puberulous, 3 mm wide basally, narrowed to 1.5 mm at tip of ovary, gradually enlarged and slightly ventricose, about 6 mm wide at throat, upper lip erect, narrowly ovate, 15-20 x 9 mm, bilobed, lobes narrowly triangular, 3.5-9 mm long, middle lobe of lower lip linear-oblong, 22-24 x 6-7 mm, lateral lobes 3 x 1 mm; stamens exserted about 7 mm beyond mouth of corolla tube, anthers 6-7 mm long. Ovary and style glabrous, stigma minutely bilobed. Capsule clavate, 20-22 mm long, glabrous, puncticulate; seeds reddish-brown, flat, 5 x 4 mm, glabrous or sparingly puberulous.
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Shrubs or suffrutescent herbs to 5 m tall; young stems quadrangular, terete when older, glabrous to sparingly strigose, the lenticels scattered, oval, ca. 0.5 mm long, corky. Leaves elliptic to elliptic obovate, to 30 cm long and 11 cm wide, apically acuminate, basally attenuate, glabrous above, sparingly strigose to glabrous beneath, the margins shallowly crenate to slightly undulate; petioles ca. 3 cm long, pubescence as on the costa. Inflorescences terminal, quadrangular, the spikes to 20 cm long and 1 cm wide; bracts rhombic ovate, imbricate, 7-9.5 mm long, 5-6 mm wide, apically acute to acuminate, apiculate, keeled and striate nerved, minutely puberulous on the upper bracts, the lower bracts increasingly strigose mostly over the keel, ciliolate with submarginal glandular areas just below the midpoint consisting of numerous, minute (0.2 mm) often shiny brown to dark brown glands making an elliptic, alveolar spot 1.5-2.5 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide; bracteoles falcate, keeled, to 8 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, striate nerved, finely puberulous without except for the wooly keel, glabrous within; rachis glabrous to sparingly puberulous. Flowerrs with the calyx segments conspicuously longer than the bracts, 9-11 mm long, glabrous, lanceolate, apically acute, the anterior segments 2.5 mm wide, the lateral segments 2 mm wide, the posterior segment 4.5 mm wide, all striate nerved; corolla bright red, bilabiate, papillate outside and in, the tube to ca. 5 cm long, 4 mm wide at base, constricted to ca. 2 mm just above the apex of the ovary, gradually extending to 9 mm wide at the throat, the upper lip erect, ca. 19 mm long, basally 9 mm wide, consisting of 2 acuminate lobes ca. 8.5 mm long, the lower lip spreading at maturity, with 3 lobes, the middle lobe lanceolate, ca. 24 mm long and 7 mm wide, the lateral lobes ca. 5 mm long, acute, connate to the upper lip for most of their length; stamens extending to about the length of the upper lip. Capsules oblong, obtuse, glabrous.
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