A rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant, evergreen where rainfall and temperatures are adequate, deciduous where there is a dry season.

A monoecious angiosperm which goes between a sexual phase also known as the gametophyte stage, and a nonsexual phase which can be referred to as the sporophyte stage. As plants have evolved over time, the gametophyte stage has been condensed, and the dominant stage of an angiosperm is the sporophyte phase.