Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Fleshy herbs.

Stems: Stems dark reddish purple, erect or sometimes ascending from a short repent base, stout, (30–)50–170 cm long, 5–20 mm in diameter toward base, unbranched or branched usually above middle, internodes ca. 2–15 cm long, moderately to densely hirsute, the hairs (0.6–)1–1.3 mm long.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite or sometimes whorled. Blades ovate, broadly lanceolate, or sometimes broadly ovate or elliptic–ovate, 7–21 cm long, (2.5–)3–4.5(–7.5) cm wide. Apex acuminate. Base broadly cuneate, rounded, or weakly cordate. Surfaces moderately hirsute, sometimes sparsely so on upper surface, medium green on upper surface; lower surfaces pale green, somewhat thickened, drying chartaceous. Margins flat ciliate. Pinnately veined, with 4–5 pairs of lateral veins, principal veins deeply impressed, some of the tertiary veins slightly impressed. Petioles 1.5–3 cm long, sometimes those of lower leaves up to 9.5 cm long, pilose. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in spikes usually several, terminal or sometimes axillary, 3–7(–9) cm long, the rachis ca. 2–4.5 mm in diameter, glabrous, flowers densely congested, peduncles 1–2 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, turbinate to obovoid, 1-carpellate, 1-celled; ovules 1 per cell, orthotropous, erect; stigmas terminal.

Fruit: Fruit obovoid; ca. 1 mm long; apex beaked; papillose–viscid with sessile glands. Seeds 1 per fruit; with scanty endosperm and copious; starchy perisperm.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Wet forests.

Elevation Range: 970–1,370 m.