Langsdorffia indica Arnott, Nat. Hist. 2: 37. 1838; Balanophora cryptocaudex S. Y. Chang & P. C. Tam; B. saxicola F. W. Xing & Z. X. Li; B. simaoensis S. Y. Chang & P. C. Tam; B. splendida P. C. Tam & D. Fang.

Plants dioecious. Rhizome yellowish orange to brown, unbranched or branched from base, surface coarsely tessellated and with stellate warts; branches subglobose, 0.5-5.6 cm in diam., rarely cylindric. Scapes yellow, 7.2-20 cm. Leaves 10-20, yellowish orange, spirally arranged, imbricate, broadly ovate to oblong-ovate, to 3 × 2 cm, apex obtuse and ± hoodlike. Male inflorescences red, ovoid-ellipsoid, 5-10 × 2-6 cm. Male flowers: reddish, actinomorphic, each subtended by a single stout and truncate bract. Perianth lobes 4-6, elliptic-lanceolate, 3-7 × 1-2.5 mm. Synandria elliptic-ovate, 2.5-5 mm, stalked; anthers 4 or 5, U-shaped, longitudinally dehiscent. Female inflorescences globose, 1-5 × 1-5 cm. Spadicles subclavate, to 2 mm, apical 1/2 to 2/3 ellipsoid-obovoid; cuticular ridges of apical cells short but distinct and congested all over. Female flowers: basally on spadicles and main axis of inflorescence. Fl. Oct-Dec.

Broad-leaved evergreen forests; 900-1500 m. SE Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines (Luzon), Thailand, Vietnam; Pacific Islands (Guam)].