We encountered this species in Bolivia (Sep 2016) in the foothills of the Andes where it was locally abundant in the understory of secondary forests. It is also known from central Brazil and areas of Ecuador and Peru. Distinguishing character is the strongly sigmoid – curved lower portion of the corolla. Flower color ranges from lavender to pink. In places, it grew symmetrically with Ruellia brevifolia, resulting in a possible hybrid between the two (Tripp 5971).
Wild collected, Bolivia, Erin Tripp #5975, 5984, 6002 w/ Manuel Luján, and Dina Clark (COLO); Photos by Manuel Luján; Blog post by Dina Clark