Iresine diffusa Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.

Erect to prostrate herb or scrambling vine to 2 m; stems glabrous to sparsely pubescent, frequently with a denser line of hairs at flattened nodes. Petiole 5-45 mm long; blade ovate, lanceolate or elliptical, 3-11 cm long, apex acute to acuminate, base rounded to cuneate, membranous, serrulate with minute ciliolulate teeth, sparsely pubescent above and beneath especially on veins. Inflorescence a diffuse panicle to ca. 45 cm long, comprised of numerous spikes having a "filigree" overall aspect; rachis of spikes very short, 2-3 mm long on ultimate, pubescent in lines; bracts ovate, 0.3-0.6 mm long, hyaline, shining, not keeled; bracteoles 0.5-0.8 mm long, hyaline, not keeled. Flowers unisexual, dioecious (rarely monoecious). Male flowers: tepals ovate to oblong, 0.8-1.3 mm long, stramineous-or white-hyaline, not clearly veined; stamens 5, filaments unequal. Female flowers: tepals oblong, 0.9-1.1 mm long, strongly 3-veined, stramineous-or white-hyaline, enveloped in wavy, white trichomes (lanate) about twice as long as tepals; ovule 1, stigmas 2(-3), linear, curved inwards. Seed lenticular, 0.5-0.6 mm long, reddish-brown, lustrous.

Often a weed in cultivated ground or waste places, in thickets, or often in dense wet mixed forest, ascending to about 2,800 metres, or perhaps even higher, in Guatemala.

Can be grown by seedlings.