Abstract Scaphosepalum zieglerae is described from a small area near Chical in northern Ecuador. It is distinguished by the large plant, waxy yellow flowers densely spotted with brown red to blood-red, spiky tails of the lateral sepals and a dark blood-red, wingless lip. It is here compared to Scaphosepalum beluosum with which it shares most similarities, and to S. fimbriatum, another species with fimbriated sepaline tails.