Herbs, suffrutescent, to 2 m high; stems quadrangular, puberulous when young. Leaves elliptic to 25 cm long and 11 cm wide, the apex acuminate and the base attentuate, glabrous except for puberulence beneath along the costa and major branches, the margins entire; petiole 1-3 cm long. Inf lorescences in terminal and axillary spikes to 45 cm long; pedicels ca. 2 mm long, the 1 bract subtending each flower elliptic to obovate, to 5.6 cm long, 1.6 cm wide, acumi-nate at the apex, acute at the base, puberulous on both the surfaces, entire; 2 bractlets subtending each flower, oblanceolate, to 3.5 cm long and 3 min wide, puberulous to puberulous glandular on both the surfaces. Flowers with the calyx 5-merous, linear to 27 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, puberulous to puberulous glandular outside, sparingly puberulous inside; corolla black to purplish black, infundibular, curved, to 6.5 cm long with numerous small glandular hairs outside, glabrous inside, the 5 lobes each ca. 6 mm wide, each lobe divided apically by a rounded notch; stamens 4, didynamous, included, the anthers 2-celled, 0.65 mm long, blunt at the base; ovary of mature flower oblong, flat-tened with enlarged base, 0.5 mm long, 0.14 mm wide, wooly at the apex and along the two margins, velutinous elsewhere, the style pilose. Capsule clavate to 25 mm long, 8 mm wide, pilose, containing up to 8 flat, orbicular seeds ca. 53 mm in diameter, rimmed with mucilaginous hairs when wet, glabrous when dry, dark brown in color.
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