A small, shrubby, somewhat procumbent herb, apparently dying back to ground level in winter, up to 200 mm high (or 400 mm when in flower). Stems smooth, slightly succulent, pilose, light green. Leaves simple, somewhat thickened, pilose, light green; lamina angularly lobate-palmate, base incised, apices of lobes acute to obtuse or even rounded, margin entire but very shallowly lobed near apices of lobes, 40-60 mm long and wide, pilose (especially adaxially), light green; petiole 30-120 mm long, deciduous, shortly pilose with long trichomes interspersed; stipules inconspicuous, ovate with acute apices, up to 2 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, membranous, abaxially pilose, caducous. Inflorescence a pseudo-umbel of 3-8 flowers borne on a ±200 mm long unbranched peduncle. Pedicel 3-4 mm long, pilose with basally directed short trichomes and erect long trichomes interspersed. Hypanthium 30-40 mm long, indumentum as on pedicel. Sepals narrowly ovate with acute apices, concave adaxially, pilose abaxially, light green, 9-10 mm long and 1.5-2.5 mm wide. Petals 5, ovate-cuneate with rounded apices, uniformly bright scarlet red; posterior two (15)-17-(19) mm long and (6)-7-(8) mm wide, gradually reflexed to ±90°, with inconspicuous darker red veins near base; anterior three (14)-16-(18) mm long and (7)-8-(9) mm wide, reflexed at base at less than 90° but otherwise straight. Fertile stamens 1(5 longer, 2 shorter), red but becoming progressively lighter towards hyaline staminal column; anthers ±1.5 mm long and 0.7 mm wide, purple; pollen dark orange-red; staminodes 3. Ovary ovoid, densely pilose with apically-directed hairs, green; style less than 1 mm long; stigma with 5 recurved branches, red; mericarps 5, bases 5-6 mm long, tails ±30 mm long, plumose. P. tongaense has a long flowering season throughout the summer.
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