Large liana or scandent or creeping shrub, sometimes even a small tree; stem up to 10 cm thick. Branches glabrous or the young parts densely ferruginously pubescent, later on verrucose-lenti-cellate. Leaves 1-3(-5)-jugate, glabrous or minutely pubescent in all parts; petiolules 0.25-0.75 cm. Leaflets elliptic to lanceolate, 4-25 by 2-9 cm, papyraceous, chartaceous, or thin-coriaceous, not rarely slightly verrucose beneath, glabrous or on the lower side minutely pubescent, mainly on midrib and nerves; base cuneate to rounded, usually subpeltate; apex blunt to acuminate, acumen blunt or emarginate; nerves 4-12 pairs, straight to curved, either distinctly looped and joined or not, veins usually rather fine and dense, transverse to the midrib, sometimes, however, more coarse and reticulate, pseudo-secondary ones sometimes strongly developed. Panicles terminal and in the upper leaf-axils, broad, up to 35 cm long, minutely ferruginous-or fulvous-tomentose, many-flowered. Bracts minute. Sepals ovate or elliptic to oblong, blunt to acute, sometimes emarginate, 1.75-4 mm long, not or slightly keeled or prominently 3-nerved, outside rather densely appressed-pubescent or tomentose, inside nearly always glabrous. Petals lanceolate(-spathulate) to linear, 2½-7 mm long, blunt, outside glabrous except margins and apex, inside usually sparsely to rather densely glandular-pubescent. Stamens connate for 0.25-1.5 mm, epipetalous ones fertile to minute and staminodial, at least the episepalous ones mainly in the upper part with some to many glandular hairs. Fruits oblique-pyriform to semi-ellipsoid, compressed (rarely bulging), 1.3.75 by 1-2 cm, obliquely 0.25-1.5 cm long stipitate, the beak distinct to inconspicuous, inserted near or at the apex, pericarp minutely ferruginous-pubescent, glabrescent, thin, inside glabrous to densely pubescent.
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A shrub. It grows 1-2 m high. It can climb. The leaves are compound with leaflets along the stalk and one at the end. There are 3-7 leaflets. They are oval and 4-20 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. The flowers are on long stalks at the end of the plant. There are many flowers in a group. They are white but fade to brownish. The fruit is a follicle that turns orange when ripe. The seeds are black with an orange yellow aril of layer around them.
In primary and secondary forests, especially in slightly more open parts, along forest edges and river-banks, in clearings, along the beach, also in thickets and alang-alang fields, both on dry and swampy soils, on granite and limestone, from sea-level up to 1100 m. FL mainly Jan.-May, fr. mainly April-July.
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A tropical plant. It occurs in secondary forests and on plains below 1000 m altitude in tropical Asia.
Uses. As the present species has obviously often been confused with some others, it is especially difficult to get trustworthy information about its uses. Even the field-labels give seemingly contradictionary information: one collector mentions the fruits as reputed for being poisonous, according to an other collector they are after boiling eaten as jam. According to Rumphius in the Moluccas the young leaves are boiled and eaten as a legume. The wood is said to be tough.
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The young leaves are eaten.
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