Pseudostems 1.5--2 m. Leaves sessile; ligule 1.2--2.5 cm; leaf blade narrowly linear, 25--50 × 3--5 cm, glabrous, base subrounded or attenuate, apex caudate-acuminate. Spikes cylindric, usually dense, glabrous or sparsely villous; bracts oblong, 3--3.5 cm, leathery, sparsely pubescent, rarely glabrous, 3-flowered, margin involute or rather flat, apex obtuse or acute. Flowers red. Calyx ca. 2.5 cm, sparsely pubescent especially at 3-toothed apex. Corolla tube slightly longer than calyx; lobes reflexed, linear, ca. 3 cm. Lateral staminodes lanceolate, ca. 2.3 cm. Labellum orbicular, ca. 2 cm wide or rather small, apex deeply 2-cleft. Filament ca. 5 cm; anther 7--8 mm. Ovary sericeous, 2.5--3 mm. Capsule globose, ca. 2 cm in diam. Seeds red. Fl. Jun--Aug, fr. Oct. 2 n = 68.

Cultivated as an ornamental.

Forests. Guangxi, SE Xizang (Mêdog Xian), S Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Thailand].