Perennial, upright, dioecious root holoparasite on woody species, male and female plants occurring on different individual host plants, color deep crimson; true roots absent but forming endophytic strands of cells within the tissue of host plants; inflorescence axis borne underground, branched or single; inflorescence formed by cells at the outer surface of the endophyte differentiating into an infloresecence primordium, growing, eventually bursting through the root epidermis of host forming buff-colored fleshy tissue growing upright to the soil surface, red upon emerging from soil; bearing red flowers at tips, underground parts not exposed to light remaining uncolored; inflorescence scales few, spiral, imbricate; surface smooth and buff-colored when borne underground, with multicellular appressed hairs and turning crimson upon appearing above ground; margins laciniate (ragged); inflorescences with solitary flowers or in 1-to 16(21)-flowered racemes, female inflorescences with up to 16 carpellate flowers, male inflorescences with up to 21 staminate flowers; inflorescence axes indeterminate, developing centripetally, 30-120 mm; bracteoles 1 or 2 per flower, bright crimson, 1.2-3.4 mm, with appressed hairs few or absent in central part; flowers with petals absent; perianth as one whorl comprising (5)6 tepals per flower; tepals 12-16 mm long, bright crimson, covered with multicellular, appressed hairs, laciniate, basally imbricate, with a hinge-like fold; carpellate flowers ovary inferior, epigynous, with a stout column terminated by a globose, viscous stigma with a velvety surface, with 6 receptacular pouches below these lined by blunt glandular hairs, nectariferous, ovary unilocular, forming a swelling at base of the flower, placentation intrusive parietal with 6 to 14 placental lobes; staminate flowers more slender than carpellate flowers, stamens fused into a column 12-14 mm diam., anthers united into a stout ring, pollen loculi 9 to 16, bithecous, extrorse, dehiscing longitudinal, with 6 receptacular nectariferous pouches lined with numerous blunt glandular hairs, top of staminal column tipped by multicellular antler-like projections; pollen pale, cream or white borne in tetrads; fruit a fleshy berry 12-17.1 mm diam. with a jelly-like center, falsely 6-to 14-locular; seeds numerous, surrounded by a jelly-like substance in fruit center, urceolate, 0.2-0.4 mm long, surface smooth, ripening in winter.
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