Weak, monoecious, annual herb, 15-60 cm tall, usually epiphytic; stems juicy, glabrous, reddish, weakly ridged. Petioles to 5 cm long; stipules oblong-ovate, 6-12 mm long, translucent, the apex very slender; blades very asymmetrical, semiovate, acuminate, rounded at base, 3-10 cm long, 1-5 cm wide, appressed-pilose above, glabrous below, the margins crenate-dentate, ciliate. Cymes axillary or terminal; flowers white, few; bracts with deeply lacerate margins; staminate tepals 2, ovate, to 3.5 mm long, their margins sealed before anthesis; stamens to 18, on a short column; pistillate tepals 4 (5), ca 2 mm long; styles 3, bipartite; stigmas spiraled, receptive before opening of staminate tepals. Capsules glabrous, 3-winged, the wings very unequal, the largest to 1 cm wide; seeds +/- round, minute, very numerous. Croat 4318. Occasional, in clearings and in somewhat open areas of the forest, loosely rooted in soil or more commonly epiphytic on mossy tree trunks; possibly locally abundant. Flowers and fruits all year, but flowering begins principally in the late rainy season. Most fruits mature in the early dry season. Leaves sometimes fall when plants have mature fruits.