Dimerocostus cryptocalyx

Endemic to Colombia, it is a perennial herb of moist mountain forests that grows from underground rhizomes. Its long, narrow, pointed leaves are hairless on both surfaces and arranged spirally along the stems. Elongated flowering spikes begin upright and later hang downward. Their overlapping green bracts have a whitish waxy coating and conceal the tubular calyces, a feature reflected in the species name. The large white flowers have a fringed, spreading lip with scarlet stripes in the throat. Two-chambered capsules contain small black seeds with white fleshy appendages. The species is somewhat rare within its range. Photographed in Colombia.