Rhizome horizontal, palmately or irregularly branched, cylindric, 1--1.5 cm thick; cork yellow-brown, rough. Stem twining to left, glabrous. Leaves alternate, simple; petiole 2.5--5.5 cm; leaf blade drying grayish brown, sometimes narrowly peltate, broadly triangular-ovate, sometimes 3-to obscurely 5-lobed, 4.5--9 × 5--9.5 cm, leathery, glabrous, base deeply cordate (with rounded sinus) to subtruncate, apex acuminate. Male spikes solitary or 2 or 3 together, 5--7 cm. Male flowers often in cymules of 2 or 3, sessile; bracts 3 or 4, ovate or triangular-ovate, membranous; perianth purplish red, drying black, lobes ovate, 0.8--1.2 × 0.6--0.8 mm; stamens 6, inserted at margin of receptacle, filaments extremely short, anthers introrse. Female flowers: staminodes usually filiform. Capsule reflexed, long pedicellate, drying blue black, obovoid to oblong-ellipsoid, 2--2.8 cm, longer than wide, pruinose, base rounded, apex truncate to rounded; wings 0.8--1.1 cm wide. Seeds inserted near middle of capsule, winged all round. Fl. Mar--Aug, fr. Aug--Dec.
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