-Plants (Kingdom Plantae)

-Vascular Plants (Phylum Tracheophyta)

-Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)

-Dicots (Class Magnoliopsida)

-Mints, Plantains, Olives, and Allies (Order Lamiales)

-Acanthus Family (Family Acanthaceae)

-Tribe Acantheae

-Subtribe Aphelandrinae

-Genus Aphelandra

-Red Aphelandra (Aphelandra scabra)

The native range of this species is Mexico to N. South America. An interesting feature of the flowers is that they bear nectar-producing glands. Flowering heads often bear ants supping nectar from the glands. It is a shrub widely used by some Mayan communities as a remedy for some infections.