Large lianas. Leaves often peltate, palmately nerved, lamina tomentellous, often whitish below. Inflorescence supra-axillary or ramiflorous, composed of a raceme of peduncled ± globose heads of flowers. Male flowers: sepals 9, imbricate in 3 whorls, externally sericeous; petals 0; stamens 6, the outer 3 free with 1-locular introrse anthers, the inner 3 with connate filaments and with 2-locular latrorse anthers. Female flowers: sepals as in male; petals 0; staminodes 6; carpels 3; densely pilose, style filiform recurved. Infructescence with globose carpophore. Drupes (only known in C. fenestratum) subglobose, tomentellous, style-scar sublateral, endocarp covered with anastomosing fibrous ridges, condyle deeply intrusive, thickly clavate and containing 2 ducts, each linking the seed-cavity with a pore on the basal surface of the endocarp; seed subglobose, hollow, enveloping the condyle, endosperm surrounding the divaricate, folded and divided cotyledons.
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