Plants erect. Stems green, 40-70 cm, 1.5-2 cm in diam. Leaves mostly crowded at stem apex; petiole green, 5-20 cm, sheathing for more than 1/2 length; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, base obtuse or broadly cuneate, apex acuminate; primary lateral veins 4 or 5 per side, ascending and arching, secondary ones indistinct, parallel to primary veins. Peduncle (5-)10-12.5 cm. Spathe oblong-lanceolate, (5.5-)6-7 × 1.5-2 cm, apex long acuminate. Spadix cylindric, ca. 2/3 of spathe length, with a stipe ca. 10 mm; female zone 5-8 mm; ovary subglobose; style short; stigma disciform; male zone elongate, 2-3 cm × 3-4 mm; stamen apex truncate, quadrangular; anthers dehiscent by a pore. Berry green to yellow-red, red when ripe, oblong, ca. 20 × 8 mm. Seed oblong, ca. 1.7 cm. Fl. May, fr. Oct-Nov.

The plant is used externally as a medicine to treat snake and insect bites, hydrophobia, abscesses, and swelling.

Dense forests, also widely cultivated in gardens as evergreen ornamental plants; 500-1700 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou [N Laos, N Thailand, N Vietnam].