Terrestrial; internodes short 1.5 to 6 cm diam.; cataphylls green, tinged reddish, ca 25 cm long, turning dark red-brown and persisting semi-intact at upper nodes, eventually weathering to more or less longitudinally oriented fibers; petioles terete to U-shaped, obtusely and narrowly sulcate to deeply and obtusely sulcate, (54) 99-173 cm long, to 4 cm diam at base, ca. 2.5 cm diam. midway, firm, moderately flexible to brittle, smooth, drying brown; geniculum often reddish; blades ovate-cordate, (28) 61-105 cm long, (35)44-88 cm wide, subcoriaceous to moderately coriaceous, semiglossy, weakly bicolorous, drying grayish brown above, yellowish brown below; midrib obtusely triangular and paler or reddened, moderately paler than surface above, convex to quadrangular, becoming acute toward the apex, often drying acute on the lower surface; primary lateral veins 6-10, arising at ca 45 degree angle, moderately straight to weakly curved to the margins, moderately acute, paler or reddish, drying acute above, more sharply triangular and paler, drying moderately acute below; collective veins usually arising from the first basal veins, the the remaining basal veins in part collecting but eventually merging with the margin; tertiary veins moderately obscure, in part sunken above, darker and slightly raised below; basal veins (4) 8-10 (11) pair, the 1st pair free to the base, the 2nd almost free, the 6th or 7th and higher coalesced 11-18 cm; posterior rib naked with the sinus for most of its length; posterior lobes broadly rounded, curving in toward each other; sinus hippocrepiform when young, mitered in age, broader than deep. Inflorescence erect; peduncle 15-75 cm long, to 1 cm or more diam., irregularly and faintly costate, tinged with purple; spathe erect, directed at ca. 180 degree angle with the peduncle, naviculiform, narrowlly ovate in outline, to 18-20 cm long, 6.5-7.5 cm diam., pale reddish violet to red outside, dark red inside (elsewhere pale green), moderately coriaceous, semiglossy, drying dark red-brown; spadix slightly tapered to apex, 20-30 cm long, 2.0-3.2 cm diam., maroon to deep red-maroon, protruding forward at 90 degree angle to peduncle; stipe 0.5-1.5 mm long on both sides; flowers more or less quadrangular, 1.6-2 mm long, 1.6-2 mm wide, 20-25 visible per spiral, the sides straight parallel to the spirals, jaggedly sigmoid perpendicular to spiral; tepals dark maroon, matte, lateral tepals 3-sided to shield-shaped and 4-sided, 1-1.3 mm wide, the inner margins broadly rounded; pistils green, soon weakly exserted; stamens held at about the level of the tepals; anthers linear, drying 1-1.4 mm long, 0.3 mm wide, the thecae not at all divaricate. Infructescence pendent to 48 cm long, 5-10 cm diam, tepals lavender to pink-magenta, to 1.5 cm long, each with an obtuse apical projection; berries oblong, white with tiny magenta tip, pale, translucent orange-white in basal part, to 1.3 cm long, 3-4 mm diam., weakly tapered toward both ends; pericarp thick, whitish, mesocarp white, mealy, seeds 2-3 per berry, greenish, oblong, ca 4 mm long, 2.5 mm diam.

Type: Ecuador. Pichincha: ENDESA reserve, 9 km N of km 113 on Quito-Puerto Quito road, 750 m, 0°05'N, 79°02'W, 15 July 1986, Croat & Rodríguez 61456 (holotype, MO-34753-60; isotypes, B, K, QCA, US).

Esmeraldas: Bilsa, 400-600 m, 0°21'N, 79°44'W, Clark & Watt 815 (QCNE, MO). Manabi: Machalilla National Park, 1°36'S, 80°42'W, Gentry 72556 et al. (MO); slopes of Montecristi, 600 m, Besse et al. 124 (SEL). El Oro: 11 km W of Piñas on road to Sta. Rosa, 850 m, Dodson et al. 9006 (MO, SEL), 11 km W of Piñas on old road to Arenillas, 3,100 ft., Thompson 159 (MO). Carchi: Maldonado-Tulcán, 2,300 m, Besse et al. 2295 (MO, SEL). Imbabura: Volcán Cotacachi, Cotacachi-Selva Alegre, 3,300--3,350 m, 0°21'N, 78°26'W, Larsen et al. 45601 (AAU). Pinchincha: ENDESA reserve, 9 km N of km 113 on Quito-Puerto Quito road, 750 m, 0°05'N, 79°02'W, Croat & Rodríguez 61456 (AAU, B, CAS, COL, F, K, MO ,NY, QCA, QCNE, US). Quito-Nono, Hacienda Yanacocha, 3,700 m, Ulloa 348 (QCA); Tandayapa-Mindo, 10 km N. of Tandayapa, 2,530 m, Croat 49359 (MO); Quito-La Concordia, via Puerto Quito, km 54, 1,350 m, Dodson et al. 15219 (MO); Nanegal﷓Nuevo Azuay, near frontier with Imbabura Province, 5.1 km N of Pacto, 13.8 km n. of Gualea, 1,070 m, 0°10'N, 78°45' W, Croat 61620 (CM, CUVC, HUA, MO, PMA, QCA, RSA, SCZ, TEX); Quito-Santa Domingo de los Colorados via Chiriboga, San Juan-La Palma, 19 km SW of Chiriboga, 1,980 m, Croat 38782 (MO); 1,000--2,000 m, 0°10'S, 78--79°W, Hammel & Trainer 15818 (MO); 1 km E of Río Pilatón, 960 m, 0°18'S. 78°55'30"W, Grayum & Zamora 9433 (MO); Tinalandia, 9.6 km E. of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, 700 m, 0°16'S, 79°07'W, Croat 55739 (MO); Hacienda Covadonga on Río Pilatón, ca 1000 m, Asplund 16736 (S); 1500--1,700 m, 0°10'N, 78°40'W, 02 Feb 1991, Neill, Castro & Tipaz 9795 (MO, QCNE).. Cotopaxi: 1 km N of Pucayacu, 0°41'30"N, 79°06'30"W, Croat 57059 (MO). Azuay: 1--8 km N of Sevilla de Oro, 8--9,000 ft., Camp 4473 (NY). Loja: Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Loja-Zamora, E of Cerro Yanococha, 2,550--2,650 m, 3°59'S, 79°07'W, Madsen 75530 (AAU); E of Nudo de Cajanuma, 2,900 m, 4°5'S, 79°10'W, Madsen 75929 (AAU).