Herbs monoecious, rarely dioecious. Stems often caespitose, slightly woody at base, 50-150 cm tall, upper stems often zigzagged, 5-angled, rarely branched, axils often with 1-3 woody bulbils, 3-6 mm in diam.; upper stems and petioles pubescent and sparsely armed with stinging hairs, particularly at nodes and apically, glabrescent. Leaves whorled at stem apex or not; stipules early caducous, oblong-lanceolate, 5-10 mm, apex 2-cleft 1/2 of length; petiole 1.5-10 cm; leaf blade light green abaxially, lanceolate to ovate or cordate, sometimes orbicular, 6-16 × 2.5-8 cm, papery, 3-veined, lateral basal pair reaching middle margin, lateral veins 4-6 each side of midvein, reaching teeth or anastomosing before margin, abaxial surface pubescent, veins sparsely armed with stinging hairs, particularly at base, adaxial surface appressed hirtellous and with sparse, stinging hairs, base broadly cuneate, rounded, rarely shallowly cordate, margin crenate, dentate or serrate, apex acuminate; cystoliths minutely punctiform, adaxially conspicuous. Male inflorescences in proximal axils, paniculate, 3-10 cm; female inflorescences terminal or in subterminal axils, 10-25 cm, peduncle 3-10 cm, often with flowers along 1 side. Male flowers pedicellate or subsessile, in bud ca. 1 mm; perianth lobes 5, oblong-ovate, puberulent, apex not corniculate; stamens 5; rudimentary ovary obpyramidal, 0.5 mm. Female flowers: pedicel 2-4 mm, strongly laterally winged; perianth lobes 4, almost free, strongly unequal, dorsal lobe concave, ca. 0.5 mm, 2 lateral larger, enclosing the ovary, oblong-ovate, 1/3-1 × as long as achene, abaxially setulose with stinging hairs, ventral lobe smallest, triangular-ovate, ca. 0.3 mm. Ovary stipitate, asymmetrically ovoid; stigma reflexed, filiform, 2-4 mm. Achene minutely purplish spotted, broadly obovoid or semiorbicular, strongly compressed, 1.5-3 mm in diam., smooth, rarely rugose-striate; pedicel winged, spatulate to obovate, stipe ca. 0.5 mm, strongly reflexed; persistent lateral perianth lobes slightly enlarged, ca. 1.5 mm, investing ca. 1/2 of achene. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Aug-Dec.
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A herb. It grows 50-150 cm tall. The base is slightly woody. The leaves vary in shape from sword shaped to heart shaped and are 6-16 cm long by 3-8 cm wide.
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