The petiole is up to 35 cm long, abaxially with a pale band that extends to the sheath.

Infrafoliar inflorescences, solitary, with peduncle 20-45 cm long, erect in flower, pendulum in fruit, bracts 5-8, rachis 10-20 cm long; inflorescences staminated with 15-30 splints, 20-30 cm long, flexuous and pendulous, green to yellow in flower, flowers 2.5-3.5 mm long and 2.5-3 mm wide, yellow-greenish, sepals free almost to the base, petals valved, free almost to the base; pistillate inflorescences with 10-20 slivers, 20-35 cm long, frequently only bifid, orange and bulging in fruit, flowers 3-3.5 mm long and 2-2.5 mm wide, in lax spirals, pale yellow, slightly sunken, sepals connate briefly at the base, petals imbricated almost to the apex, free.

Fruits are globose to subglobose, 7-10 mm in diameter, green when unripe and turning black or black-purple when ripe.

It is found throughout Mexico and Central America, in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador.

[1] It tolerates full sun, but is found to prefer shade in hot, inland climates.