Herbs up to 30 cm. high, the stems ascending, rooting at the lower nodes, rather densely hirsute, the hairs close and upwardly appressed or on the upper portions of the stem ascending, 0.5 to 0.75 mm. long; leaf blades oblong, up to 8 cm. long and 2.5 cm. wide, short-acuminate (the tip itself obtuse), narrowed at base, rather thin, entire, both surfaces moderately pilose, the hairs ascending to subappressed, about 0.75 mm. long; petioles slender, up to 4 cm. long, more or less pilose; spikes in 3's terminating a slender peduncle 7 cm. long, this rather densely pilose with hairs 0.75 mm. long, some of them more or less spreading, others appressed, each spike about 1.5 cm. long and 1 cm. broad, borne on secondary densely pilose peduncles up to 7 mm. long, the three spikes subtended by a pair of small leaves 18 mm. long and 8 mm. wide, subobtuse and narrowed at base to a winged petiole about 3 mm. long, the pubescence that of the stem leaves, the rachis densely hirsute with ascending whitish hairs about 0.75 mm. long; bracts thin, oblong, 7 mm. long and 4 mm. wide, acute at tip, nar- rowed at base, thin, entire, both surfaces hirtellous, the hairs up to 0.5 mm. long, mostly ascending, the margins ciliate, the costa and 1 or 2 pairs of lateral nerves slender; bractlets narrowly linear, 5.5 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide at base, gradually narrowed to a slender tip, the outer surface pilose, densely so toward the tip, the inner surface. glabrous, striate-nerved; calyx segments narrowly lanceolate, acute, 0.75 mm. wide, striate-nerved, minutely puberulous toward the tip; corolla 18 mm. long, the lower half glabrous or nearly so, the upper half rather densely pubescent, the hairs up to 0.28 mm. long, more or less curved, ascending, the tube 1.5 mm. broad at base, enlarged over
ovary to 2 mm., then narrowed to 1.25 mm., thence gradually enlarged to 4 mm, at mouth, the upper lip about 3 mm. long and 4 mm. wide, bilobed, the lobes 2 mm. long and wide, rounded and emarginate at tip, the lower lip 4 mm. long, 3-lobed, the lobes obcordate, 2 mm. long and wide, emarginate; stamens reaching the mouth of the corolla tube; ovary glabrous except the hirsute tip; capsules not seen.
Type in the Kew Herbarium, collected in shade of virgin forests at San Ignacio, "Cordillera Orientalis Bogotensis," Colombia, January 1876 by Edouard André (No. 4661).
Aphelandra andrei belongs to the Lagochilium group of Nees, plants midway between Stenandrium and Aphelandra. It is probably near- est to A. botanodes, as indicated by its small size, herbaceous habit, and trifurcate inflorescences of 3 small spikes. It differs strikingly, however, from that species in its rather densely hirsute stems and entire bracts.