Shrub to medium-sized tree. Leaves entire, ovate to oblong, to 15 cm long, 10 cm wide, usually hairy below; stipules triangular, to 2 cm long and bent back. Flower clusters dense, terminal, roundish; summer. Flowers with a tube to about 1 cm long with spreading lobes, pink with a yellow beard in the throat.

S Mexico, Panama

 

R. strigosa Hemsl. from Guatemala has small leaves and dark red flowers; it is occasionally grown in public gardens.

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Rubiaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.