Found in rich soil in woodlands, blossoming during May.

The very short stalk barely shows above the ground; it is large and stout and fibrous, bearing two or three sheaths and terminating in the flower, and the leaf-stems which are from 4 to 8 inches in length.

The large wide leaf is heart-shaped or rounded, with an entire margin, and strongly marked by the ribs and veins; the upper surface is velvety to the touch, while it is rough and woolly underneath, and the color is a strong green, whitish beneath. The stem is stout, erect, and slightly woolly. Two or three leaves only are borne on the summit of the stalk.

The flower has no petals; the calyx is shaped like a deep, round cup, 3-parted at the top, with curling margins. It is coarse and firm in texture, with a hairy surface; the outside dull purplish, the divisions reddish-brown or bronze, and the inside of the cup creamy white curiously marked in the bottom by a hexagonal design in purple; the 12 stamens are gathered close about the 6-parted pistil. The single flower is set on a short, bristly stem, that springs from between the leaves, and turns downward, the blossom resting its face upon the earth and burying itself so carefully in the leaf mold that only search reveals it.

Later in the season the leaves attain a considerable size, four or five inches across; they are always decorative in shape and color. The root is aromatic, and sharp to the taste,—whence the folk-name.