This evergreen shrub native to the South Pacific islands grows to a height of 10 feet in full sun with moderate moisture conditions. The leaves are large, broad and toothed with a coarse texture and milky sap. In some varieties the leaves are crowded together and cupped or twisted. They are grown for their colorful foliage, which for this cultivar is a blotchy blend of light and very dark red with olive new growth. The flowers of this species are upright fuzzy female spikes and pendant male catkins, not ornamentally effective. They are best used as specimens or in a border in a tropical climate. In colder climates they can be used as potted plants during the summer and must be kept in a greenhouse during the winter, being too large to use as houseplants.