Herbs up to 35 cm. long; stems suberect or ascending, subterete, strigose, the hairs upwardly directed, up to 0.25 mm. long, the internodes up to 5 cm. long; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, up to 10 cm. long and 4.5 cm. wide, subobtuse at tip, cuneate at base and decurrent on the petiole, moderately firm, entire or undulate, sparingly hirsute, the hairs appressed or ascending, up to 0.5 mm. long, confined chiefly to costa and lateral veins (9 or 10 pairs), these and the coarsely reticulate veinlets moderately prominent beneath, obscure above; petioles up to 1.5 cm. long, appressed-hirtellous, the hairs resembling those on the stem; spikes terminal, up to 3 cm. long and 1.5 to 2 cm. broad (excluding spread of corollas), the peduncles about 2 mm. long, densely sericeous-strigose, the bracts quadrifarious, subchartaceous, ovate, up to 12 mm. long and 10 mm. wide at middle, the lower half entire, the upper half serrate, the teeth (about 5) ascending, abruptly acuminate from a broad base, about 1 mm. long, the tip of the bracts acute and apiculate, the base broadly cuneate, both surfaces glabrous, the costa and 1 or 2 pairs of lateral nerves prominent; veinlets coarsely and prominently reticulate; bractlets lanceolate, subhyaline, sub- chartaceous, 4.5 mm. long, 0.75 mm. wide just above base, acuminate, carinate, minutely ciliolate, the hairs ascending, the costa prominent and bearing a few small hairs; calyx segments lanceolate, 7 mm. long, subchartaceous and subhyaline, acute and terminating in weak spines about 1 mm. long, glabrous or inconspicuously ciliolate, delicately striate-nerved, the posterior segment about 2 mm. wide, the lateral segments 1 mm. wide, the anterior ones 1.5 mm. wide; corolla yellow, sparingly and minutely hirtellous, 2 cm. long, the tube 2 mm. wide at base, narrowed to 1.25 mm. at 2 mm, above base, the throat 4 to 5 mm. broad, the lips ascending, about equal, 6 to 7 mm. long, the upper lip cuneate, about 6 mm. wide near tip, bilobed, the lobes 3 mm. long, 3.5 mm. wide, rounded, the lower lip 3-lobed, the lobes obovate, about 5 mm. long, the middle one 6 mm, wide, the lateral ones 3.5 mm. wide, all rounded; stamens slightly exserted but not exceeding the lips,
the anthers glabrous except the arachnoid cohering tips, the filaments sparingly pilose; ovary glabrous; capsules not seen.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 2045431, collected in subtropical forest in the San Antonio Valley, 15 km. southeast of Gutiérrez and 60 km. south of Bogotá, Cordillera Oriental, Depart- ment of Cundinamarca, Colombia, 1,575 meters altitude, August 2, 1944, by Martin L. Grant (No. 9811). Isotype: US 2144013. The nearest relative of Aphelandra quadrifaria seems to be A. silvicola, which it superficially resembles. That species has variegated
leaves and smaller bracts, these rather densely and softly appressed- pubescent and with fewer teeth on their margins. The specific epithet alludes to the 4-ranked bracts of the spikes.
Kalbreyer's No. 1849, collected in forest shade on the Río Verde, Department of Antioquia, 4,500-5,000 feet altitude, June 27, 1880, is also of this species. The following notes are on the Kalbreyer sheet: "4-12 inch stem, repent, If. glossy green, thin; fl. bright yellow with purple veinlets."