Shrubs; stems terete, densely strigose, the hairs light brown, 0.5 mm. long, closely appressed; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, up to 28 cm. long and 10 cm. wide, short-acuminate at apex, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, coriaceous, entire or undulate, the upper sur- face glabrous or sparingly strigose, the lower surface densely brown pilose or subtomentose, the hairs ascending, up to 1 mm. long, the costa and lateral veins (about 15 pairs) prominent below, less so above; petioles up to 1.5 cm. long and 3 mm. in diameter, densely brown pilose or subtomentose; spikes terminal, solitary, subsessile, about 13 cm. long and 1.5 cm. broad, loosely imbricate, the rachis silvery and finely pubescent; bracts narrowly ovate, 1.5 cm. long, 7 mm. wide near base, acute, coriaceous, glabrous, sparingly ciliolate, the costa and lateral nerves obscure; glandular area not apparent; bractlets lanceolate, 2.5 mm. wide near base, attenuate, acute, carinate, dorsally white- tomentose except a narrow marginal area, this glabrous, subhyaline and striate; calyx 14 mm. long, the segments coriaceous, obscurely striate, acute, finely pubescent, the posterior segment oblong-lanceolate, 5 mm. wide near base, the anterior pair lanceolate, 3 mm. wide near base, the lateral pair narrowly lanceolate, 2.5 mm. wide at base; corolla (very immature) finely pubescent; ovary glabrous. Type in Herbario Nacional Colombiano, collected in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia, 1,300 meters altitude, May, 1852, by J. Triana (s. n.). Aphelandra lasiophylla has apparently no close affinity to other Colombian species. Its distinguishing characters lie in the brown, densely pilose or subtomentose undersurfaces of the leaf blades and the solitary terminal spikes with a finely silvery pubescent rachis. The name lasiophylla is derived from Adios, shaggy, and púλor, leaf.