Description: Herb with short crowned rootstock, trailing to ca 1 m long, most parts hairy, lower part with sheathing cataphylls. Leaves distichous, broad ovate to subcircular, 1.5-6 cm long; apex acuminate; base cordate; lower surface finely hairy; veins 5 or 7 from base, arching towards apex; petioles 0.2–1 cm long, not sheathing at base; prophyll 1-2 mm long. Inflorescences axillary, a short dense raceme, to 1.5 cm long; peduncle glabrescent, 1.5–3.5 cm long, 1 or 2 flowers at apex at anthesis; bracts ovate-oblong, 1.5–2 mm long, acuminate, margins fringed, persistent. Flowers dark red; pedicels filiform, articulate, 1–2.5 cm long, lower articulate part persistent, 0.5–1 cm long, glabrous. Tepals 4, imbricate, recurved, ovate, 2–3 by 1.5–2 mm, acuminate, sparsely or densely with red hairs on upper surface. Stamens 4; filaments adnate to the tepal, dark red, closely adhering, stout, 1–1.5 mm long, red hairy; anthers yellow-orange, ca. 0.5 mm diam. Ovary minute; style sessile; stigma minute. Capsule narrowly ovoid, 1–1.2 by 0.5–0.7 cm; apex narrow, 2-lobed; perianth persistent; fruiting pedicel ca. 1.5 cm long. Seeds 1 or 2, dark red, ellipsoid, ca 5 by 3 mm, ridges, aril irregularly lobed, surrounding more than half of the seed; funicle short; pseudo-funicle nearly as long as fruit. |
