Shrub or suffrutescent herb; stems quadrangular, more or less pubescent, the hairs weak, upwardly curved or appressed, the angles rounded; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, up to 20 cm. long and 7.3 cm. wide, acutish at tip, narrowed at base and decurrent on the petiole, entire or shallowly crenate, drying dull green, glabrous or the costa inconspicuously pubescent beneath, this and lateral veins (10 or 11 pairs) rather prominent, the cystoliths numerous and conspicuous under lens; petioles up to 1.5 cm. long, pubescent; flowers borne in 1 to 3 times dichotomously branched panicles terminating slender, more or less curved, glabrous quadrangular peduncles up to 16 cm. long, the secondary branches up to 3 cm. long, the others successively shorter, all slender, quadrangular, glabrous or the uppermost finely pubescent; bracts oblanceolate, rounded at apex, narrowed at base, unludate or entire, the lowermost pair 16 mm. long and 4 mm. wide, the others successively shorter; calyx 4 to 5 mm. long, moderately glandular- puberulous, the hairs about 0.25 mm. long, the segments narrowly lanceolate, gradually narrowed to a bluntish tip, the costa more or less prominent; pedicels flattened, up to 2.5 mm. long, sparingly glandular-puberulous; corolla purple, 2 cm. long, the lower half of the tube slender, cylindric, 1.5 mm. broad, finely and inconspicu- ously pubescent, the upper half funnelform, glabrous, 7 mm. broad at mouth, the limb about 1 cm. broad, the lobes rounded; stamens short, included; capsules slenderly clavate, about 13 mm. long, pub- erulous, some of the hairs gland-tipped, the slender sterile basal portion about 7 mm. long and 1 mm. broad at base, enlarging to 1.25 mm. at base of seed-bearing cavity, this flattened and about 3 mm. broad; seeds 4 to 8, purplish when mature, round, flat, 2 mm. in diameter, the margins gelatinous-puberulous when moistened; retina- cula curved, subulate, 1.5 mm. long, the slender tip more or less erose. Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1950440, collected in forest east of Turbo, Department of Antioquia, Colombia, 50 meters altitude or less, July 2, 1946, by Oscar Haught (No. 4929). An iso- type is also in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1950439.

Ruellia chariessa is a well-marked species apparently with no close relative, at least in Colombia. Haught states that it has the leaves red beneath and is probably a widespread species. The name chariessa means graceful or pleasing.