Scrambling, multistemmed shrub, evergreen, usually shallow-rooted, not twining, glabrous throughout. Rhizome small; roots terete, up to 8 mm diam. with numerous side rootlets; lateral tubers off thick main roots, round to broadly ellipsoid. 30-51 x 22-40 mm. Stems robust, 10-15 mm thick, up to 3 m long, bright green, completely glabrous, faintly ribbed towards base. Spines large on stems, up to 20 mm long, smaller elsewhere, hard, sharp, straight to curved downwards, pale orange brown; present below branches, branchlets, clad-ode fascicles and flowers. Leaf scales on stem triangular, 1.0-5.5 mm long, very pale with darker median stripe, margins entire, depauperate to absent on branches and branchlets. Branches spreading, up to 0.6 m long, faintly papillose-ribbed. Branchlets spreading, up to 150 mm long, distinctly papillose-ribbed, 5-angled, slightly zigzagging. Cladodes 1-3(-6) per fascicle, held at an angle to branches, flattened, narrowly elliptic to linear, (5-)8-25(-31) x 1.5-2.0 mm long, bright green, glossy, base constricted with a basal foot, margins papillose. Racemes 50-70 mm long, arising from branch or branchlet nodes, simple or branched, an occasional cladode sometimes present. Flowers 1-3 per fascicle, sweetly scented. Pedicel 1.5-3.0 mm long, articulated in lower half. Tepals 6, 3.0-4.2 x 1.5-1.9 mm, apex curved inwards, margin entire. Stamens 6; filaments 2.25-2.65 mm long, fused length 0.75 mm. free length 1.5-1.9 mm: anthers orange. Style 0.4-0.5 mm long; stigma 3-fid, arms 0.1-0.2 mm long. Ovary oblong-ellipsoid, trilocular, 1.8-3.0 x 1.1-2.0 mm. Fruit a berry, 2-or 3-lobed. 10-14 mm diam., glabrous, red when ripe.
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