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Erect herb, 50-100 cm high; stem angular. Leaves ovate-oblong, oblong or lanceolate, 6-20 by 1½-9 cm; petiole 2-6 cm. Racemes erect or sub-erect, 12-35 cm long when adult (including 5-10 cm long peduncle), rather dense, sometimes very dense; rachis of raceme red, rather densely patently papillose. Tepals ovate-oval-obovate, during anthesis pink, 3-4 mm long, under the ripe fruit dark red, 4-5 mm. Stamens, at least in the middle and lower flowers, 10-22, partly on the margin of the disk, partly on the underside of it; in the highest flowers sometimes not more than 7-9, on the margin of the disk. Styles 7-10. Fruit 7-8 mm diam., faintly lobed. Seeds ± 2½ mm.
Plants to 3 m. Leaves: petiole 0.5-6 cm; blade elliptic to obovate or rarely lanceolate, to 30 × 15 cm, base obtuse to attenuate, apex acute. Inflorescences spikes or spikelike, surpassing subtending leaves, to 30 cm; peduncle to 10 cm; pedicel 0.5-2 mm. Flowers: sepals 5, white or pink to pale reddish, broadly elliptic, equal, to 3 × 2 mm; stamens (8-)10-22(-30), usually in 2 whorls; carpels mostly 6-10, connate; ovary 6-10-loculed. Berries purple-black, 7-8 mm diam. Seeds black, thickly lenticular, 2.5-3 mm, shiny.
A herb. It grows 1.5 m tall. The leaves are large and narrowly oval. They are alternate. The flowers are white or red. They occur in a large group in the axils of leaves near the ends of stalks. The fruit are black.
