This species is native of the lowland Amazon forests, collected by Rick Dunn and passed on to the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian’s acquisition number is USBRG 1998-255.
The name D. anisophylla comes from the difference in size of the members of each leaf pair (called anisophylly), which is rare in the genus Drymonia but common in Columnea and Trichodrymonia.
Note that this species is unusual in its deep red color.