The pellucid lines, visible under magnification, form a network that is unrelated to the pattern of the veins.

[citation needed] Flowering stem tem 70 – 120 cm long, usually straight, cylindrical or costate below, triangular between the whorls.

Pedicels 2 – 3 cm long, sepals green, later yellow with about 30 ribs, during ripening enlarging to a length of 10 – 12 mm and fully covering the aggregate fruit.

Petals white, 5 – 8 mm long, corolla 1.6 - 1.8 cm in diameter, about 30 stamens.

First gathered in Panama in 1908, but now also known from Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.