Aphelandra aristei Leonard

Aphelandra aristei Leonard

Aphelandra aristei Leonard, Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 31:228. 1953.

Shrubby; tips of stems densely hirsute-strigose; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, to 14 cm long and 6 cm wide (the lowermost probably larger), slightly obtuse, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, entire or undulate, the upper surface sparingly pilose, the lower surface densely brownish, pilose-sericeous, the hairs about 1 mm long; petioles to 1 cm long, densely pubescent; spikes solitary, terminal, to 15 cm long and about 2 cm broad, the rachis pilosulous, the peduncles to 3 cm long, the pubescence that of the stems; bracts ascending, not closely appressed, light brownish red when dry, entire, oblong-lanceolate, 23–24 mm long, 4.5 mm wide near base, 7 mm wide at middle, prominently striate-nerved, acuminate, ciliate, velutinoussericeous, the inner surface glabrous or nearly so, ocelli numerous, minute, to 40 or more, elliptic, about 0.25 mm long, light brown, glabrous, somewhat nitid; bractlets subulate, 1 cm long, 1.5 mm wide at base, finely and softly pubescent without, finely striate-nerved; calyx segments subequal, about 1 cm long, the posterior segment narrowly ovate, 4 mm wide slightly above base, the anterior segments lanceolate, 2.5 mm wide, the lateral pair narrowly lanceolate, 2 mm wide, all gradually narrowed from just above base to a slender tip, finely pubescent and striate-nerved; corolla orange-red, finely pubescent, 3.5–4.5 cm long, the upper lip erect, ovate, 2-lobed, the lobes triangular, acuminate, outwardly curved at tip, the lower lip more or less spreading, 3-lobed, the middle lobe oblong, 15 mm long, 4.5 mm wide, acute, the lateral lobes narrowly ovate, about 5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, obtuse; stamens slightly exserted; ovary glabrous; capsule not seen.

TYPE.—Bro. Ariste-Joseph s.n. (holotype US), Colombia, Cundinamarca, Pacho, Aug 1923.

DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from the typelocality.