Casimirella ampla (Miers) R.A.Howard

Liana or shrub with scandent branches and tuberous rhizomes; young branchlets slightly angular, strigose to glabrous, with conspicuous lenticels. Petiole 8-10 mm long, glabrate; blades chartaceous, elliptic, ovate-elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, 8-20 x 3-10 cm, apex obtuse to acuminate, base acute to rounded, glabrous or nearly so at maturity; primary vein slightly sulcate and strigose above, prominent and glabrescent beneath, secondary veins 3-6 on each side, arcuate ascending and conjugating near margin, reticulation prominent on both sides. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, irregularly branched, up to 20 cm long, branches strigose, glabrescent; bracteoles minute, subulate. Calyx deeply lobed, densely strigose, lobes ca. 1.5 mm long, acute; petals ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 3-4 x 1.5-2 mm, densely strigose outside, villose inside, inflexed at apex; stamens at anthesis nearly as long as petals, filaments 2-3 mm long, abruptly curved towards anthers, anthers to 1 mm long, thecae globose, separate, connective triangular, conspicuously elongate above thecae; ovary globose, strigose, 1 mm long, style 0.5 mm long, glabrous. Fruit globose to oblong, ca. 5 cm diam., to 8 cm long, densely puberulous, yellow to orange at maturity, endocarp strigose inside.

A tropical plant.

Economic use: The tubers weighing of 5-20 kilos are rich in starch and are edible after washing out the bitter tasting compounds.