Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Fleshy herbs.

Stems: Stems usually several, pale to dark red or reddish green, ascending or weakly erect from a short repent base, 1.5–8(–20) cm long, 2–8 mm in diameter toward base, unbranched or occasionally divaricately branched, internodes 1–3(–8) cm long, hirsute, the hairs 0.3–0.5 mm long, older ones sometimes becoming subglabrate.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Usually alternate or opposite in lower part of stem, usually opposite or whorled in upper part. Blades usually variable in shape on a single plant, elliptic–obovate to subrhombic–obovate, broadly elliptic, or orbicular, sometimes subspatulate, disproportionately large, (2–)3–6 (–7.5) cm long, (1.5–)2–5(–6.5) cm wide. Apex rounded to very broadly obtuse, sometimes some of them obtuse, rarely emarginate. Base truncate to rounded, occasionally subcordate or broadly cuneate. Upper surfaces glabrous except usually hirsute toward base, especially along midrib, occasionally (especially on Moloka'i) evenly sparsely appressed hirsute; lower surfaces hirsute sometimes only along midrib or toward margins; yellowish green on upper surface; lower surfaces whitish green, sometimes with red intercostal areas, thick and relatively firm, drying chartaceous. Margins flat, ± sparsely ciliate. Palmately 3-veined or 5-veined and the outermost pair of veins faint, usually with 1– 2 additional pairs of lateral veins above lower ⅓ of blade, veins usually red, slightly impressed on upper surface. Petioles 0.7–2(–3) cm long, hirsute, occasionally sparsely so. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in fleshy spikes 1 or sometimes several, terminal and axillary or leaf–opposed, (1.5–)2–8(–15) cm long, the rachis 2–3 mm in diameter, glabrous, flowers moderately congested, peduncles 0.5–2(–2.8) cm long, hirsute. Flowers bisexual (perfect), perianth absent. Each flower subtended by a peltate bract. Calyx (sepals) absent. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 2. Ovary superior, ovoid, 1-carpellate, 1-celled, somewhat embedded in the rachis, apex oblique; ovules 1 per cell, orthotropous, erect; stigmas subterminal.

Fruit: Fruit broadly ovoid; 0.7–1 mm long; papillose–viscid with sessile glands. Seeds 1 per fruit; with scanty endosperm and copious; starchy perisperm.

Ploidy: 2n = 88

Habitat: Mesic valleys and mesic to wet forest.

Elevation Range: 100–1,860 m.