Perennial herb with thickened roots from a short rhizome. Inflorescence to 1 m, floral bracts pale green. Leaves ovate-elliptic, undulate, to 25 cm long, 18 cm wide, leaf stalks long, channelled, winged, spotted below, leaf apex acuminate, base rounded, leathery, undulating, 7-9 vein pairs, metallic dark green above, paler and shiny below. Flowers deep mauve to bluish-purple, anthers purple spotted; summer.

China.

var. aureomaculata Henson Young leaves with yellowish patches, fading with age.

Source: Conran, J. (2005). Hostaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.