Shrubs; stems subquadrangular, densely pilose, the hairs sordid, spreading or ascending, up to 2 mm. long; leaf blades oblong, up to 7 cm. long and 2.2 cm. wide, short-acuminate (the tip itself subobtuse), narrowed at base, firm, entire, pilose, the hairs spreading or ascending, sordid, confined chiefly to costa and lateral veins (about 10 pairs), these rather prominent beneath but obscure above; petioles up to 1 cm. long, densely pilose; spikes usually 3, terminal and subterminal, up to 4 cm. long and 2 cm. broad (excluding corollas), the peduncle of the terminal spike about 1 cm. long, those of the lateral spikes 3 to 4 cm. long, all densely and sordidly pilose, the hairs spreading or ascending, the rhachis moderately pilose, furrowed; bracts lanceolate, 16 mm. long, 5 mm. wide, subacute, the lower half pilose with ascend- ing hairs up to 2 mm. long, the upper half becoming glabrous just below the tip, ciliate, obscurely nerved; bractlets lanceolate, 9 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, acute, sparingly pilose dorsally, ciliate, delicately nerved; calyx 8 mm. long, the posterior segment 3 mm. wide, the anterior segments 1.5 mm. wide, the lateral segments 1 mm. wide, all acute, glabrous, finely ciliolate at tip, striate-nerved; corolla orange, the lower part glabrous, the upper part finely pubescent (the hairs mostly up to 0.5 mm. long), 4 cm. long from base of tube to tip of upper lip, the tube narrowly funnelform, 2.5 mm. broad at base, 4 to 5 mm. broad at mouth, the upper lip erect, ovate, 4 mm. wide at base, 6 mm. wide at middle, subacute, the lower lip 17 mm. long, 5 mm. wide at base, erect to spreading, 3-lobed, the middle lobe lance- olate, 12 mm. long, 3.5 mm. wide just below middle, acute, the lateral lobes linear, 10 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, acute; stamens exserted 12 mm. beyond the mouth of the corolla, the anthers 4.5 mm. long, 0.75 mm. broad, acute at both ends, glabrous, the filaments glabrous; ovary glabrous; capsules not seen.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 2045424, collected in temperate forest between Sibaté and Fusagasugá, 35 km. southwest of Bogotá, Cordillera Oriental, Department of Cundinamarca, Colombia, 2,650 meters altitude, April 30, 1944, by Martin L. Grant, E. P. Killip, and F. R. Fosberg (No. 9124).
Aphelandra pinarotricha is somewhat like A. phlogea from the De- partment of Magdalena, but that species has a glandular pubescence, and much larger leaves, flowers and bracts. Its stems are glabrous. The specific epithet is from the Greek , sordid, and hair.