Robust ± herbaceous climber 3–20 m. long; stems often reddish, thick and rubbery, up to 3 cm. diameter, wrinkled and ridged when dry; mostly quite glabrous but sometimes all parts sparsely puberulous to pubescent; tendrils present.. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; leaflets ovate, broadly elliptic, obovate or rarely ± lanceolate, 2.5–13 cm. long, 1.5–9.4 cm. wide, acute to acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base in median leaflet, rounded to subcordate in laterals, coarsely serrate or dentate to serrate-crenate, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on nerves on both sides, less often more densely pubescent, rarely even velvety beneath; petioles 1–8.5 cm. long; petiolules 0.3–2.5 cm. long; stipules oblong-or ovate-falcate, 1–2 cm. long, 0.4–1 cm. wide, soon falling.. Cymes lax, 3-fid, on axillary branches, 8–25 cm. long; peduncles 3–14 cm. long; pedicels 2–5 mm. long, attaining 8 mm. in fruit; bracts and bracteoles narrowly ovate, 2–4 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide.. Buds cylindrical, 3–5 mm. long, swollen at base and apex, puberulous.. Calyx 2 mm. wide.. Petals white or green, margined or tipped with purple.. Ovary glabrous or pubescent.. Fruit maroon, ellipsoid or subglobose, 0.9–1.3 cm. long, 6–8 mm. wide, glabrous or with sparse ± spreading obviously multicellular red hairs.. Seed ellipsoid, 6–8 mm. long, 4–5 mm. wide and thick; ventral ridge broad and well defined with 4 large rugose tubercles, the basal pair with irregular ridging, the apical pair at the junction of the dorsal lateral ridges and bearing a Y-shaped ridge, the base of the Y being the end of the lateral ridge; mid-dorsal groove obscure but laterals evident and forming right-angular keels with sides; dorsal area with some short ridge-like tubercles and generally rugose as are the sides of the seeds.
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