Plant slender to moderately robust, erect, 50-80 cm in diameter. Stems usually with rudimentary leaves on each growth segment; internodes terete or slightly dilated and flattened upwards, (2-)15-80 mm long, 1-3 mm in diam. Leaves usually rudimentary and normally developed in successive pairs; normally developed leaves narrowly ovate to ovate or elliptic, attenuate at the base to an obscure petiole 2-8 mm long, often undulate at the margin, more or less acuminate and finally shortly rounded at the apex, 3-nerved, with veins visible on both sides, 40-90(-110) by 10-30 mm; rudimentary leaves rarely lacking, rarely in two successive pairs, (2-)7-25 mm above each leafy node, c. 1 mm high. Inflorescences commonly terminal, often in threes, sometimes axillary, 30-90 mm long, a spike of 9-25(-40) pairs of triads or sometimes single flowers; internodes 2-5 mm long; bracteal cup c. 0.5 mm long, spreading; bracteoles acuminate, almost entire to serrate, rarely (not in Malesia) densely fimbriate, 0.4-1 mm long. Fruit narrowly ellipsoid to ellipsoid, smooth or rarely finely verrucose, yellow to red. Fig. 1a.
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