Herbs; stems subquadrangular with rounded angles, the lower parts retrorsely puberulous or glabrate, the hairs curved, about 0.1 mm. long, the upper portions hirsute, the hairs straight or slightly curved, spreading or more or less retrorse, yellowish brown, up to 1.5 mm. long; leaf blades oblong-ovate or oblong-elliptic, up to 10.5 cm. long and 4 cm. wide, acute or short-acuminate (the tip itself subacute), obtuse or acute at base, moderately firm, entire, the upper surface moderately hirsute, the hairs ascending or subappressed, up to 1.5 mm. long, yellowish brown, the lower surface hirsute, the hairs densest on costa and lateral veins (about 10 pairs), these prominent beneath, less so above, the hairs similar to those of the upper surface, the cystoliths minute and obscure on the upper surface, more numerous and conspicuous on the lower surface; petioles up to 3 cm. long, those of the upper leaves more or less densely hirsute, those of the lower leaves glabrate or puberulous, the tip of the branches densely golden hirsute, the hairs mostly spreading and up to 1.5 mm. long; peduncles terminal, solitary, up to 7 cm. long, quadrangular, densely hirsute with golden spreading or slightly retrorse hairs up to 1.5 mm. long, branching at tip and producing 1 to several spikes up to 5 cm. long and 8 mm. broad, the rachis, like the peduncles, densely hirsute; bracts firm, lanceolate, 8 mm. long, 1.25 mm. wide, gradually narrowed from below middle to an acute tip, glabrous or sparingly hirsute dorsally except the margins, these rather densely ciliate, the hairs mostly ascending, those near base up to 1.5 mm. long, the others about 0.75 mm. long, all yellowish brown, the costa broad, low but prominent, flanked by 2 pairs of marginal nerves; bractlets firm, subulate, 6 mm. long, about 0.5 mm. wide, carinate, ciliate, the hairs spreading or ascending, up to 0.5 mm. long; calyx 5.5 mm. long, the tube glabrous, the segments narrowly triangular, 0.75 mm. wide at base, gradually narrowed from base to a slender tip, the lower portion glabrous, the upper ciliate, the hairs up to 0.5 mm. long; corolla (im- mature) light lilac, about 6 mm. long, the lower portion glabrous, hirsute above, the lips rather densely so, the upper lip triangular- ovate, acute, the lower lip 3-lobed, the lobes about 1 mm. long, rounded; stamens reaching the tip of the subequal lips, the lobes super- posed, about 1 mm. long and 0.5 mm. broad, glabrous, the cells sub- vertically attached to the connective, the lower cell calcarate at base, the tail about 0.25 mm. long, blunt and whitish, the style about as long as the stamens, the stigma minute; capsule (immature) about 1 cm. long, clavate, the upper half moderately puberulous, the lower solid stipate portion glabrous; retinacula 1.5 mm. long, the tip slightly curved, narrowly cucullate; seed not seen. Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1852681, collected in the valley of the Río Anchicayá, Quebrada del Danubio, Department of El Valle, Colombia, 300 to 350 meters altitude, December 20, 1942, by J. Cuatrecasas (No. 13731). Justicia chrysea should be readily recognizable because of the dense golden stiffish hairs, especially those clothing the branchlets. The specific epithet is from the Greek word, xobocos, golden.