The crane flower is a tufted, evergreen, acaulescent (stemless) perennial herb up to 1.5 m tall and 2 m in diameter. The roots are fleshy and finger-like and ± 25 mm in diameter. The leaves are distichous (opposite and arranged fan-like in one plane), banana-like with the leaf blade 500 x 100 mm, and the margins can sometimes be red-edged.