Rhizome horizontal, irregularly branched, bulky; cork cracked, tessellated; transverse section pink; bases of old roots becoming hard and ± thornlike. Stem twining to left, faintly grooved, glabrous, or pubescent to puberulent and glabrescent, abundantly prickly proximally, prickly only at nodes distally, smooth apically. Leaves alternate, simple; petiole 4.5--9 cm, often with recurved prickles; leaf blade ovate or broadly so, to 15 × 16 cm, glabrous or pubescent along main veins abaxially, main veins sometimes prickly, basal veins 7--11, base cordate with narrow or broad sinus and rounded auricles. Male spike produced before leaves on new stem, solitary, lax, 35--45 cm. Male flowers: in cymules to 1 cm, subsessile; bracts brown, lanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm; bracteoles absent; perianth narrowly campanulate, proximally villous, lobes erect, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 2.5 mm, apex rounded; stamens 6, inserted in throat of perianth tube, slightly shorter than perianth, filaments longer than anthers. Female spikes 20--30 cm. Female flowers: staminodes minute. Capsule reflexed, yellow-brown, oblong-obovoid, angular in outline, 2--3 cm, densely puberulent, glabrescent, base truncate to rounded, apex retuse to rounded; wings 1--1.5 cm wide. Seeds inserted near middle of capsule, winged all round.
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A yam. The vine has irregular branches. The stems twine to the left. The leaves are alternate and simple.
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