Balanophora polyandra Griff. in Proc. Linn. Soc. London 1: 220. 1844; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 238. 1886. Acroblastum ambavanense Reddi in Willdenowia 5: 389, f.1. 1969.

Plants dioecious (inflorescences unisexual), brick red, (5 -) 8 - 15 (- 25) cm long from point of fusion with host root; tubers several together in a mass, branching from the base; single tubers subspherical, 1.5 - 2.5 cm across, granular with scattered stellate warts. Leaves 6 - 12, opposite, decussate in 4 rows, or sometimes very densely set and apparently spirally arranged, elliptic-lanceolate. Male flowers: spadices ellipsoid, 3 - 7 (- 12) cm long, 1 - 2 (- 3) cm thick; pedicels short, up to 2 mm long; bracts very short and inconspicuous; flowers zygomorphic due to lateral elongation, 4- (5 - 6)-merous; main tepals 2 in normal 4-merous flowers, wide and truncate or almost square; lateral tepals 2, ovate, acute; in some cases both median tepals bipartite making the flowers 5 or 6-merous; synandrium broad, laterally much elongated, somewhat flat-topped; anther locules many times transversely divided into 20 - 60 smaller locelli, each about 2 times longer than wide. Female flowers: spadices ovoid or ellipsoid, 2 - 4 (- 7) x 1 - 2.5 (-3) cm; spadicles large, 1500 - 2300 ìm long with a cylindrical basal part, about half to three-fourth the total length, 230 μm wide; head broadened, truncate, obovate, 800 - 900 μm wide; cuticular ridges of top cells absent; largest flowers with pistils up to 2200 μm long and carpels ca 700 μm long and 380 μm wide.

Fl. & Fr. Aug. - Feb.

Distrib. India: Subtropical forests, 1000 - 3000 m. Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Maharashtra.

Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, SW. China.