Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Coarse herb from a woody caudex.

Stems: Stems often swollen at the nodes, terete, 4–angled or –ridged, 0.2–1.2 (–5) dm long, thick and somewhat fleshy, purple, ± ascending, unbranched, tortuous, internodes greatly compressed, leaves tufted at apex, glabrous.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Leaves opposite. Blades usually somewhat irregular, either curved or concave, elliptic–oblanceolate to nearly spatulate, (8–)14–24 cm long, (1.5–) 2–5 (–6) cm wide. Apex acuminate, acute, or obtuse with a mucronate tip. Base leaf bases often connate around the stem, base long-attenuate. Surfaces glabrous; blades thick and coriaceous. Margins entire. Only the midvein evident, the midvein ± excentric. Petioles 0–3 cm long, purple, at least near the stem. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescence terminal, with 20–300 flowers, 20–40 (–60) cm long, diffuse, erect, the tertiary and higher order internodes ascending or appressed; bracts subulate, purple, ciliate at least toward base, those of central axis 2-4 mm long, those of branches and flowers 1.5–3 mm long; pedicels 7–10 mm long, elongating to 15 mm long in fruit, conspicuously asymmetrically flattened. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Sepals 3.5–4.1 mm long, lanceolate, purple, opaque, completely reflexed, the proximal ½ convex, producing an elongate low bulge, the distal part concave to shallowly navicular, usually slightly twisted, abaxial side glabrous, margin scarious, sparsely ciliate, especially toward the apex, apex attenuate. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 10; filaments dimorphic, the antisepalous whorl 4.3-4.5 mm long, the alternate whorl 3.7–4 mm long; anthers 0.7-0.95 mm long, subequal, yellow. Ovary superior, 1-celled, placentation free-central; styles 3 (–4).

Fruit: Capsules ca. 3.5–5 mm long; ca. 1.6–2.2 mm in diameter; narrowly ovoid. Seeds 1.0–1.1 mm long; orbicular–reniform; slightly compressed; transversely rugose; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = probably 60*.

Habitat: Diverse mesic forest to perhaps wet forest on steep slopes in shaded sites.

Elevation Range: 410–730 m.