diff --git a/src/flask/helpers.py b/src/flask/helpers.py
index d069e545b2..57c8a00054 100644
--- a/src/flask/helpers.py
+++ b/src/flask/helpers.py
@@ -546,7 +546,8 @@ def download_file(name):
     If the final path does not point to an existing regular file,
     raises a 404 :exc:`~werkzeug.exceptions.NotFound` error.
 
-    :param directory: The directory that ``path`` must be located under. This *must not*
+    :param directory: The directory that ``path`` must be located under,
+        relative to the current application's root path. This *must not*
         be a value provided by the client, otherwise it becomes insecure.
     :param path: The path to the file to send, relative to
         ``directory``.