Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Fleshy herbs.

Stems: Stems red, erect to ascending from a repent base, (5–)10–35 cm long, sometimes a few in a clump as short as 5 cm long, ca. (1.5–)3–5 mm in diameter toward base, usually many-branched, internodes 0.5–6 cm long, moderately to densely spreading or somewhat appressed hirsute or sometimes hirtellous, the hairs ca. 0.5–1.2 mm long.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite or whorled. Blades ovate to elliptic–ovate or elliptic–lanceolate, sometimes some of them elliptic, elliptic–obovate, or elliptic–oblanceolate, 1–5(–6) cm long, 0.5–2.5(–3) cm wide. Apex bluntly acute, obtuse, or sometimes acute or broadly obtuse. Base cuneate to broadly cuneate. Surfaces hirsute, sometimes Upper surfaces sparsely hirsute or hirsute only toward margins, along principal veins, or at base; upper surfaces dark green, intercostal areas red or sometimes pale green, somewhat thickened and fleshy, drying chartaceous to somewhat coriaceous. Margins entire, flat. Palmately 3-veined or 5-veined, the outermost pair obscure, sometimes all but midrib obscure, the principal veins probably somewhat impressed, veins of lower surface usually pale green. Petioles 0.3–1(–1.7) cm long, densely hirsute. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in fleshy spikes several to numerous, terminal and axillary, 3–9 cm long, sometimes the axillary ones as short as 2 cm long, the rachis ca. 1–1.5 mm in diameter, glabrous, flowers loosely congested, peduncles 0.5–2 cm long, rarely a few of them up to 2.2 cm long. 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, apex oblique; ovules 1 per cell, orthotropous, erect; stigmas subterminal.

Fruit: Fruit broadly ovoid; 0.7–0.9 mm long; sometimes slightly beaked; papillose–viscid with sessile glands. Seeds 1 per fruit; with scanty endosperm and copious; starchy perisperm.

Ploidy: 2n = 88

Habitat: Wet banks; rocks; or epiphytic on trees; in wet forests to mesic shrublands; rarely margins of subalpine forests.

Elevation Range: 460–1,980 m.