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A woody herb or shrub. It grows up to 3 m high. The leaf blades are 5-16 cm long by 3-10 cm wide. The male and female plants are usually separate. The male flower stalks occur singly and are 12 cm long in the axils of leaves. The female spikes are at the ends of branches. They are 19 cm long. The fruit are 3 mm long by 4 mm wide. The seeds are 1.8 mm long and 1.5 mm wide.
Leaf blades (3)5–16 × (2)3–10 cm, ovate or elliptic-ovate, caudate-acuminate at the apex, serrate on the margins, cuneate to rounded, truncate or shallowly cordate at the base, membranous, sparingly pilose to subglabrous on both surfaces, usually more evenly to densely pilose along the midrib and main nerves, 5–7-nerved from the base; lateral nerves in 4–7 pairs.
Female spikes terminal, very rarely also axillary, up to 19 cm long and 2 cm wide in fruit, narrowly cylindric, rigid, subsessile; bracts accrescent to 1–1.5 × 2–2.5 cm, transversely ovate-rhombic, chartaceous, sparingly pilose, stipitate-glandular on and near the margin, greenish, 1-flowered, c. 20-toothed; terminal tooth linear-lanceolate, the rest triangular.
Herb, up to 1.3 m high. Stems erect from woody root-stock, red. Leaves broadly ovate, up to 80 x 60 mm, acuminate, dentate, with petioles up to 80 mm long. Bracts with stalked glands. Flowers red.
Female flowers sessile; sepals 3, 1 mm long, triangular, ciliate; ovary less than 1 mm in diameter, 3-lobed, pubescent at the apex; styles free, 3 mm long, laciniate, greenish-white or crimson.
A large much-branched woody herb, lax shrub, prolific vine or small tree up to 5 m tall; stems glabrous or pubescent, pilose or villous, often purplish.
Male racemes solitary, axillary, up to 12 cm long, limp, scarcely or shortly pedunculate, densely flowered; bracts 1–4 mm long, linear-oblong.
Male flowers shortly pedicellate; buds subglobose, minute, almost glabrous, green, pink-or reddish-flushed; anthers yellowish-white.
Seeds 1.8 × 1.5 mm, ovoid-subglobose, smooth, purplish-grey; caruncle elliptic, appressed, ochreous.
Stipules 4–10 mm long, linear-lanceolate to subulate-filiform, soon falling.
Fruits 3 × 4 mm, 3-lobed, sparingly pubescent at the apex.
Plants monoecious, or rarely dioecious.
A shrub, to 10 ft. high
Petioles 2–15 cm long.
