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Male flower: (10)12–24 × 2·5–4 mm. (incl. the 1·5–3 mm. long stipe), tubular-campanulate; hypanthium 1–3 mm. long, cup-shaped; sepals (8)9–18 mm. long, free, lanceolate, obtuse, entire; petals (6)8–10 × 1–2 mm., lanceolate, acute, serrulate, 1–3-nerved; corona consisting of a few stiff hairs near the insertion of the petals; stamens with the filaments 2·5–5·5 mm. long, connate at the base, inserted at or up to 1·5 mm. above the base of the hypanthium; anthers 4–5 × 0·75–1 mm., obtuse, with apiculum up to 0–2 mm. long; disk-glands 0 or reduced to callose pads up to 0·25 mm. in diameter; vestigial ovary 0·5–1 mm. long on a gynophore 0·5–1 mm. long.
Female flower: smaller than the male; hypanthium 1–1·5 mm. long; sepals 5–8 mm. long, lanceolate, obtuse; petals 2·5–3·5 × 0·5–0·75 mm., lanceolate, 1-nerved; corona 0 or consisting of a few stiff hairs; staminodes c. 1·5 mm. long, connate at the base, inserted at the base of the hypanthium; disk-glands 0; pistil 4–6(8) mm. long; gynophore 1–2 mm. long; ovary 2–4(5) × 2–3·5 mm., subglobular; styles connate for c. 1 mm. at the base, with the free arms c. 0·5 mm. long; stigmas c. 1 mm. in diameter, papillate.
Leaf-lamina 1–3·5 × 0·7–3 cm., ovate to elliptic, obtuse or sometimes retuse at the apex, margin entire or somewhat remotely shallowly lobulate and undulate, rounded or cordate at the base, ± coriaceous, greyish-glaucous green, with the midrib, lateral nerves and vein reticulation distinct on both surfaces but more so below; petiole 0·2–0·7 cm. long.
Woody shrub or small tree with massive, irregular, light green, fleshy or hard bole up to 0·50 × 2·5 m., producing slender, greyish-green, very thorny unbranched fertile stems c. 1 m. long, sometimes climbing by means of the thorns, with internodes 0·5–4 cm. long.
Glands of the lamina-base 1 or 2, 1–2·5 mm. in diameter, subreniform to orbicular, sessile at the apex of the petiole; lamina-gland 1, apical or subapical, c. 0·25 mm. in diameter, at the end of the midrib.
Shrub, up to 1.5 m high, armed with thorns. Leaves entire, broadly ovate to elliptic; glands at base 1 or 2, sessile at top of petiole; 1 (sub)apical gland on blade. Flowers greenish.
Cymes axillary, 2–6-flowered in male, 1–3-flowered in female; peduncle c. 0·5 cm. long; pedicels 0–2 mm. long in male, 0–1 mm. long in female.
Sterile tendrils 3·5–6 cm. long, axillary, soon becoming sharp patent thorns up to 4 cm. long.
Capsule 1·4–2·2 × 1·2–1middot;8 cm., subglobular, with thinly coriaceous pericarp, 3–6-seeded.
Seeds c. 6·5 × 7 × 2–2times;5 mm., suborbicular, pitted.
Stipules c. 0·5 mm. long, triangular, acute.
