The leaves have thin oval blades folded along the midline and measuring up to 21 centimeters long by 8 wide.

The flowers have yellow-green petals and are borne in cymes in the leaf axils.

[3] Today this plant is limited to the island of Kauai, having been extirpated from Oahu.

They grow on exposed ridges and cliffs above valleys and near waterfalls.

Other plants in the habitat include Alphitonia ponderosa (kauila), Alyxia stellata (maile), Antidesma platyphyllum (hame), Dianella sandwicensis (uki uki), Coprosma waimeae (olena), Dicranopteris linearis (uluhe), Dodonaea viscosa (aalii), Doodia kunthiana (okupukupu), Kadua affinis (manono), Leptecophylla tameiameiae (pukiawe), Melicope anisata (mokihana), and Melicope barbigera (alani).