Japan Flora: the branches thick, terete, appressed brown-pubescent while young; leaves vivid green, coriaceous, elliptic to narrowly oblong, sometimes broadly lanceolate, 15-23 cm. long, 3.5-8 cm. wide, short-caudate to short-acute, acute at base, glabrous and lustrous on upper side, scattered-pilose, pale green and somewhat glaucous beneath, entire to obsoletely undulate-toothed near tip, midrib and lateral nerves raised beneath, the petioles 7-12 mm. long, stout; spikes often branched at base, 4-7 (-10) cm. long, sparsely woolly in anthesis, the bracts and bracteoles densely brown- pubescent; fruit black, ovoid-urceolate, about 6 mm. long, the calyx persistent.  Aug.-Sept.

Kyushu (Yakushima and Tanegashima). Ryukyus and Formosa.