Seasonally dormant herbs. Stem an underground rhizome, sometimes stoloniferous; roots thick, spindle-shaped, tuberous. Leaves solitary-several, radical, subtended by several basal cataphylls; petiole not pulvinate apically; basal sheaths often purplish spotted or banded; blade lanceolate, ovate, cordate-sagittate, sagittate or hastate-sagittate. Inflorescences produced before or with leaves, borne at or below ground-level on short peduncles, usually subtended by several basal cataphylls. Spathe tubular with connate margins in lower part, often inflated at extreme base, upper part a lanceolate-elliptic ± expanded limb, or unexpanded with a lateral slit, often somewhat or greatly thickened. Spadix shorter than spathe, lower part bearing pistillate flowers, upper part longer, bearing staminate flowers, often separated from pistillate part by interstice bearing sterile flowers. Flowers unisexual, surrounded by ± glandular cup-shaped perigon. Staminate flowers: perigon often with very thick fleshy margins; stamens 2–7; filaments subulate, rarely thickened apically; anthers dehiscing by lateral slits; connective slender, sometimes ± thickened; central pistillode usually present. Pistillate flowers closely appressed, borne in single basal whorl or in spirals; perigon usually greatly thickened and glandular or mealy on upper surface; ovary 1–2-locular; ovules 1–many per locule; placentation basal, parietal or axile; style thick, ± cylindric, exserted beyond perigon; stigma capitate to broadly discoid and massive. Berries borne at or below ground-level in globose to cylindric infructescence, often rugose, fleshy, 1–few-seeded. Seeds with copious endosperm.
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