Herbs erect, 30-100 cm tall. Stems terete, usually woody at base, ca. 2 cm in diam. Petiole 6-18 cm; leaf blade broadly ovate to triangular-ovate, 9-22 X 9-20 cm, base cordate, margin sinuolate-dentate, apex acute. Inflorescences 10-20-flowered; bracts pale red, broadly ovate, 1.2-2.5 X 0.7-1.3 cm, membranous; bractlets ovate-oblong; 0.6-1.5 cm X 4-10 mm. Calyx lobes pale yellow-green. Corolla dark red, white to pale red adaxially, with pale purple-red spots, 3-4 cm; lobes semirounded, with yellow and purple spots adaxially, purple striate abaxially. Filaments white, glabrous, 1-1.5 cm. Capsules ovoid, 3.5-4 X 2-2.5 cm, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, with hooklike apical beak ca. 5 mm, densely glandular pubescent, spiny along suture. Fl. throughout year. 2n = 32, 36.

Forests, roadsides; 500-1500 m. S Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam; native of Central America, introduced and naturalized elsewhere].