Suffrutescent herbs or shrubs up to 2 meters high; stems much branched, their upper portions subquadrangular, bifariously pilose, the hairs up to 0.8 mm. long, more or less straight and spreading, the lower portions of the stems subterete and glabrate; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, up to 16 cm. long, and 6.5 em. wide, rather abruptly but slenderly acuminate, gradually narrowed to a panduriform cordate base, moderately firm, entire or shallowly crenate, glabrous or bearing a few spreading marginal hairs at base, the costa and lateral veins (5 or 6 pairs) moderately prominent, more so beneath than above, the cystoliths numerous but minute and rather obscure, up to 0.13 mm. long; petioles very short and rather thick, up to 1 mm. long, glabrous or bearing a few hairs on the margins of the channels; flowers numerous and secund in spikes up to 6 cm. long, these forming terminal pyramidal panicles up to 10 cm. long and 13 cm. broad, the nodes of the panicle bearing 1 or 2 pairs of branches, the peduncles up to 3.5 cm. long, quadrangular, bifariously hirsute, the lowermost node of the central axis of the panicle bearing a pair of leaves, the blades oblong-elliptic, up to 7 cm. long and 2 cm. wide, abruptly and slenderly acuminate, narrowed to base, the petioles about 2 mm. long and ciliate on the margins of the channels, the internodes of the panicle similar to the peduncles but successively shorter and more densely hirsute toward the tips, the uppermost bracts narrowly triangular, 2.5 mm. long, 0.75 mm. wide at base, narrowed to an acute tip, sparingly hirsute, the hairs up to 0.2 mm. long; bractlets similar to the bracts but only about half as large; calyx segments linear, 2.5 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide, subobtuse, glabrous except the margins toward tips, these ciliate with rigid ascending hairs up to 1 mm. long, the costa and a pair of lateral nerves slender and obscure;
corolla white, 8-12 mm. long, the tube short and relatively broad, 1 mm. broad at base, 1.25 mm. at 1 mm. above base, thence enlarged to 3 mm. at throat, the lips equal, 4.5-6 mm. long, the upper lip ovate, about 2 mm. wide, obtuse at tip, the 3 lobes of the lower lip ovate, 3.5 mm. long and 3 mm. wide, rounded at tip; stamens included, 3.5 mm. long, glabrous, the anther lobes somewhat superposed, about 1 mm. long and 0.5 mm. wide, obliquely attached to the connective, the bases divergent; pistil 2.5 mm. long, the style minute, 2-lobed; stigma glabrous; ovary papillose; capsules not seen.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1995088, collected in a forest at Turbo, Department of Antioquia, Colombia, less than 50 meters altitude, March 28, 1946, by Oscar Haught (No. 4775).
Also of this species is Haught's No. 4554, collected in low wet forest near Vijagual, 30 km. south of Turbo, Department of Antioquia, 40 meters altitude, April 12, 1945.
Justicia ephemera is a well-marked species apparently without near relatives. The panduriform leaf blades are like many of those in Pseuderanthemum. Staminodes, however, so constant in Pseuder- anthemum, are definitely absent in this species. Haught states that the flowers are fragrant forming a showy inflorescence during the mornings but falling by afternoon. The plant is said to be in bloom only two or three days. The specific epithet is from the Greek word huepos, meaning ephemeral or short-lived, in allusion to the fugacious blossoms.