Scandent shrub. Young branchlets densely ferrugineous-scaly and sometimes at first minutely puberulous, soon becoming glabrous. Leaves opposite, chartaceous or subcoriaceous, elliptic, oblong-ellptic, broadly lanceolate or sometimes oblanceolate, densely scaly but individual scales contiguous and not very conspicuous, nearly glabrous except for occasional hairs on the veins of the lower surface, 10-21 by 4-11 cm, usually acuminate at the apex with acumen up to 1½ cm long, cuneate, obtuse or rounded at the base; petiole scaly when young, 5-12 mm. Inflorescence of unbranched axillary spikes up to 10 cm long or occasionally of terminal panicles of spikes, ferrugineous-scaly and pubescent or nearly glabrous. Bracts very small, soon deciduous. Flowers yellowish, 4-merous, sessile. Lower receptacle (ovary) densely scaly, otherwise glabrous, 1-1½ mm long. Upper receptacle campanulate, scaly, outside glabrous, 2-3 mm long, inside pubescent, terminating in 4 deltoid calyx-lobes about 1 mm long. Petals 4, yellow, narrowly elliptic, very small, often less than ½ mm long, occasionally up to 1½ mm long. Stamens 8, exserted, 5-7 mm long. Disk cupular, about 0.8 mm deep, glabrous, hairy on the margin. Style 5½ mm long. Fruit densely scaly, especially when young, tomentellous or puberulous, eventually glabrescent, 3½-6½ by 1-2 cm, usually slightly narrowed at each end with 4 (rarely 5) longitudinal, rounded (occasionally sharp) ridges.
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Climbing shrub; young shoots ferruginous-hairy. Leaves opposite or subopposite; lamina usually elliptic, 7–20 cm long, rounded or obtuse at base, usually shortly acuminate at apex, minutely lepidote; petiole 4–10 mm long. Spikes axillary or supra-axillary, sometimes combined into terminal panicles, c. 3–7 cm long, ferruginous-lepidote and pubescent. Flowers many, crowded, 4-merous, sessile, yellow. Hypanthium base c. 1 mm long, 4-angled, densely lepidote, pedicel-like; limb campanulate, c. 3 mm long, densely hairy within, caducous. Calyx lobes deltoid. Petals narrowly spathulate, c. 2 mm long. Disc glabrous. Stamens c. 6 mm long, exserted, yellow. Style c. 6 mm long, acicular; stigma minute. Fruit fusiform to ellipsoidal, c. 3.5–5 cm long; ridges 4, longitudinal, obtuse, coriaceous, minutely lepidote.
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