Native to the humid montane forests of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, particularly along the eastern slopes of the Andes between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 feet in elevation, this upright perennial herb typically grows in cloud forest margins, disturbed clearings, and roadsides where moisture levels remain high throughout the year. It produces zygomorphic flowers with five rounded lobes and a short corolla tube that flares into a loose, open-faced shape, typically arranged in terminal or axillary racemes. The flowers are most often orange or red-orange, with occasional populations displaying pale yellow to white variations; the two upper lobes curve upward while the three lower lobes point forward or downward, forming a loose symmetry that facilitates access by specialized pollinators. In its native range, it blooms during the rainy season and is pollinated primarily by long-tongued bees and possibly hummingbirds. Photographed in the north-eastern Andes of Ecuador.