Tubers one or two or three, descending from a corm at the surface of the soil, cylindric, to 30 cm long with a hard black cortex studded with short indurated root-bases. Stem to 6 mm in diam. at the base and with a few prickles, with red or dirty white thin pubescence. Leaves ternate; petiole equal in length to the middle leaflet; middle leaflet narrowly elliptic, long acuminate, penninerved, to 6 by 2½ cm; base acute; lateral leaflets slightly inequilateral, with one primary nerve in addition to the midrib on each side of it; upper surface of the leaflets with a few hairs, the nerves scarcely raised, lower with red-brown hairs; petiolules 2-3 mm. Simple leaves may be produced distally and are of small size. Male flowering axes usually gathered together on leafless branches which attain 20 cm; axis to 4½ cm, with upwards of 45 flowers closely set except that there are a few bare mm at the base. Pedicel ½-1 mm. Bracts ovate, acuminate, hirsute with white and deep red hairs. Torus not flattened. Outer tepals broadly ovate, very obtuse, less than 1 mm long, pubescent outside. Inner tepals spathulate and thick, glabrous. Stamens ½ mm long, filaments as long as the anthers; staminodes overtopping the anthers. Female inflorescences as those of D. pentaphylla (see p. 315). Capsules differing in the apex being obtuse; wings 22 by 7 mm (see Fig. 5h).
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