First leaves elliptic , glabrous or sparsely covered with a few soft non-glandular hairs. Ocrea fringed with erect hairs at the top . The following characteristics apply except where noted. Stems coarse , swollen at the nodes , typically rooting at lower nodes , openly branched, often reddish. Leaf bases tapered .
Margins ciliate with minute to short hairs.
Leaf bases rounded, truncate, or abruptly tapered . Leaf stalks 1-5 cm long. Ocrea often 1.5-3 cm long. In fertile soils, rhizomes can grow more than 50 mm per day. Rhizome fragments can develop new shoots.