Herb with short rhizome and tufted habit. Stems up to 6 dm. long. Leaves with a petiole up to 9 dm. long, but often less; calloused part of petiole up to 5 cm. long; blade elliptic, asymmetric, antitropic, up to 48 cm. long, acuminate, ± rounded at the base, often tinged reddish below. Inflorescence one per stem, appearing to be axillary, surrounded by up to 6 leaves, much branched, the branches congested with short internodes, subtended by broadly elliptic obtuse or acute strongly imbricate bracts; cymules about 4 at each node, enclosed in a similar broadly elliptic bract about 2.5 cm. long; bracts various shades of red, held vertically, horizontally or more or less inverted, depending on their position in the inflorescence; cymules sessile; ovary pubescent. Flowers pale pink or pale purple, sometimes white, about 2 cm. long. Fruit ellipsoid, obscurely lobed if more than one-seeded, about 9 mm. long and 6 mm. in diameter, not fleshy, with the withered perianth persisting; seed as in Fig. 1/6A, p. 3, brown with a whitish aril. Fig. 1/6 and 6A, p. 3.