This species is surely sister to or very very near to Ruellia tubiflora and also must be related to another oddity that T2 (Matt Schreiber), Manuel Luján, and I just picked up in Ecuador (see Ruellia vel. aff. tubiflora, Tripp et al. 6776).

I predict this species, whatever it ends up being, will nicely clade up with R. tubiflora and the pile of other ‘cone-like inflorescence scar’ species in Ebracteolate, following molecular work. Bet you 100 Colombian Pesos.

We found it in two localities in southern Colombia, both in the vicinity of Morelia (not far from Florencia). Grows in very wet, still, quiet forests…

Wild collected, Colombia, Tripp et al. #5227 & 5228 (COLO); Photos by Erin Tripp, Manuel Luján, Grant Godden