Herbs perennial, dioecious. Roots stout, obconic, slightly fleshy. Caudex sheathed by blackish remains of old petioles. Vegetative stems short with a rosette of leaves; flowering stems erect, stout, terete, striate, simple. Basal leaves petiole slender; leaf blade oblong-spatulate, base narrowed, apex obtuse to rounded, veins 3-5. Stem leaves sessile, smaller toward apex, base rounded and subamplexicaul, apex obtuse, veins 3-5. Inflorescences panicles of cymes with many small flowers, rounded in male plants, narrower and ± elongated in female plants. Flowers 4merous. Calyx and corolla rotate, lobed nearly to base; each corolla lobe with 1 or 2 gland patches. Stamens inserted at sinus between corolla lobes. Ovary 1celled. Style short. Capsules 2valved, many seeded. Seeds small, discoid winged.

Two species: Bhutan, SW China, NE India, Sikkim; both species in China.