Erect subshrubby herb ± 50 cm. tall, nearly always eventually a climber; rootstock red, thick and woody, 15 cm. long, 7 cm. wide; stems ± succulent, striate, densely shortly pubescent to pale ferruginous velvety, often with sessile discoid glands; tendrils present.. Leaves digitately 3–5(–7)-foliolate; leaflets elliptic, lanceolate or obovate to narrowly obovate-oblong, 2–20 cm. long, 0.7–9 cm. wide, acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, serrate to crenate, pubescent to glabrescent above, ± densely pubescent beneath or subtomentose to velvety and often pale-ferruginous, with scattered sessile discoid glands particularly towards apex; petiole 2–20 cm. long, with similar indumentum to stems; petiolules ± 0–5 mm. long; sometimes long red bristly hairs where petiolules meet; stipules ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 1–2.5 cm. long, 3–4 mm. wide, pubescent.. Cymes lax, 5–15 cm. wide, on short axillary branches; peduncle 3–5 cm. long, with indumentum similar to stems; pedicels 3–8 mm. long, densely pubescent, usually with sessile capitate glands and occasionally short gland-tipped hairs as well; bracts and bracteoles linear-lanceolate, 2–5 mm. long, acuminate, pubescent.. Buds ± 2.5 mm. long, constricted above the middle, pubescent and sometimes with subsessile capitate glands.. Calyx 0.5 mm. long, 1.2 mm. wide, entire, pubescent.. Petals yellow or cream with pink tips.. Ovary glandular-pubescent; style 1.3 mm. long.. Fruit green becoming orange-red or scarlet, ellipsoid, 0.8–1.2 (1.5 in spirit) cm. long, 6–8 mm. (13 in spirit) mm. wide, pubescent with short white hairs and with long red or orange-brown gland-tipped bristly hairs 3–6 mm. long.. Seed ellipsoid, 4–7.5 mm. long, 3–5 mm. wide, in dry material (M.-R. & T. 9725) ventral ridge broad and evident and with a transverse tubercle on each side near base; dorsal mid-ridge faint, present only in middle; lateral ridges clear and 3–4 low tubercles between, with 1–2 transverse lateral ribs but otherwise smooth (in spirit seed of 9725 has faint dorsal and ventral grooves not ridges and is otherwise smooth with no tubercles).
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