| Original Botanical Description or Link to | Monoecious, rhizomatous, perennial herb. Rhizome long creeping, 15–32 cm or longer, 7–10 mm wide, red to
brown-red, glabrous, internodes 8–15 mm. Stipules persistent, red, ovate-triangular, 12–15 mm long, 5–12 mm wide,
herbaceous, glabrous, strongly keeled, keel attached near the left or right side more than the center, with fleshy red hairs
from the base to the apex, each with secondary hairs, margin entire, aristate, arista 1–3 mm. Leaves alternate, peltate,
petiole inserted 7–13 mm from the base, terete, greenish or reddish, 8–17 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, densely pilose,
hairs whitish; leaf blade asymmetric, either the left or right side smaller, ovate, 11–15 cm long, 6.5–10 cm wide, apex
acuminate, base oblique, margin slightly and widely dentate in young, smaller leaves, becoming entire to subentire in
mature, bigger leaves, some undulating at maturity, with few white hairs; leaf chartaceous, densely pilose on both surface,
adaxially green, abaxially pale green, hairy on all veins; venation basally 8–10, palmate, midrib distinct, primary and
secondary veins prominent, sunken above, raised below, reticulations faint. Inflorescence axillary, bisexual, dichasial
cymes, 15–36.2 cm long, peduncle greenish or reddish, 13–36 cm long, arising directly from the rhizome, ascending,
with dense white glandular hairs; protandrous. Bracts red and white, deciduous, ovate, boat-shaped, 3–5 mm long,
2–3 mm wide, apex acute, margin entire, with a few white glandular hairs. Staminate flower pedicel 6–8 mm long,
with dense white glandular hairs; tepals 4, adaxially red and white, abaxially white; outer 2 elliptic to ovate, 9–12
mm long, 7.5–9 mm wide, apex obtuse to subobtuse, glabrous or with a few white glandular hairs adaxially; inner
2, oblanceolate, 8–12 mm long, 3–4 wide, apex obtuse to rounded, glabrous; androecium actinomorphic, 2.5–4 mm
across; stamens, yellow, 31–44; filaments shortly fused at base, anthers widely obovate to widely elliptic, 0.5–3 mm
long, 2-locular, apex obtuse to rounded. Pistillate flower pedicel 13–17 mm long, with dense white glandular hairs;
tepals 5, adaxially red and white, abaxially white; outer 2 subrhombic or obovate, 10–12 mm long, 5–8 mm wide,
apex obtuse to subobtuse, glabrous or sometimes with very few white glandular hairs adaxially; inner 3 subrhombic or narrowly obovate, 8–15 mm long, 4–6 mm wide, apex obtuse to subobtuse, glabrous; ovary greenish to reddish, body
trigonous-ellipsoid, 5–6 mm long, 3–5 mm wide, with a few white glandular hairs; unequally 3-winged, abaxial wing
much larger, trapezoid, apex truncate, 6 mm long, 5–6 mm wide, lateral wings equal or sometimes one wing smaller,
6 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, crescent shaped, margin entire; ovary 3-locular, placenta bilamellate; styles 3, fused at
the base for ca. 2 mm, yellow, 4 mm long, stigma kidney-shaped. Capsule pendent, pedicel 2.4–2.5 cm long, tepals
deciduous, body trigonous-ellipsoid, 10–12 mm long, 5–6 mm thick, greenish or reddish when fresh, brown when
mature; wings unequal, 14–15 mm long; lateral wings equal or sometimes one wing smaller, 3–4 mm wide, abaxial
wing 10–12 mm wide. |
