Tubers replaced annually, 4–5, depressed, globose, clustered, up to 10 cm. across.. Twining stems up to 15 m. long, trailing down from the tops of trees, densely pubescent when young, glabrescent, beset with prickles.. Leaves alternate, 3-foliolate; petiole up to 27 cm. long, pubescent, usually with a very few scattered prickles; leaflets with petiolule up to 10 mm. long, densely pubescent when young, becoming rather sparsely adpressed pubescent above in age and pubescent mainly on the nerves beneath; median leaflet obovoid to broadly obovoid, up to 24 cm. long and 29 cm. wide, acutely acuminate, cuneate or rounded at the base, conspicuously 3(–5)-nerved from just above the base.. Male inflorescence paniculate, the ultimate branches spreading in all directions forming dense cylindric spikelets up to 25 mm. long on peduncles up to 15 mm. long; bracts broadly ovate, adpressed to the perianth and partly concealing it, densely pubescent; perianth subglobose, densely pubescent, with the thin inner segments about 1 mm. long and the outer considerably smaller. Stamens 6.. Female inflorescence pendulous, spicate; flowers not known.. Capsule as in fig. 2/1, p. 5, 5–7 cm. long, 2.5 cm. in diameter, velutinous.. Seeds (fig. 2/1a) ± 4 cm. long, with wing on basal side only.
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A yam. It is a climbing herb 10 m long. It has a single tuber with 4 lobes or there can be 4-5 tubers in a cluster. They are 10 cm across and a flattened round shape. They grow near the soil surface. The stem twines to the left. There are prickles near the base. The leaves are alternate and have 3 leaflets. These are rounded and have a tip at the end. There are often compound male flowers present when the leaves are just forming. The fruit is a capsule about 5 cm long by 2 cm wide.
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