Unbranched slender shrub; leaf-scars prominent towards apex. Leaves crowded at apex, oblong, to 40 x 18 cm, purplish, abruptly constricted into the petiole to 18 cm, grooved above; petiole base widened into sheath. Panicle to 40 cm, well branched, 30 cm wide; stalk 15 cm. Flowers bisexual, subsessile; bracts ovate, 3 mm. Perianth 1.5 cm, tubular below; lobes 3+3, reddish, 1 cm, reflexed. Stamens 6, inserted on the tube, 4.5 mm. Ovary superior; ovules 16 per cell; style 1.5 cm. Berry subglobose, 1 cm wide; seeds numerous, black.