Plants sometimes monoecious. Rhizome horizontal, sometimes irregularly branched, subcylindric, 1--1.5 cm thick; cork dull brown, rough; transverse section yellow. Stem twining to left, glabrous, smooth. Leaves alternate, simple; petiole 2.5--6 cm; leaf blade adaxially green, often irregularly spotted, drying dark grayish brown, narrowly peltate, triangular-ovate, usually ± 3-lobed by enlargement of basal lobes, 4.5--10 × 4--8.5 cm, papery, glabrous, base cordate with broadly rounded sinus, apex rounded and cuspidate to acuminate; lateral lobes reflexed, rounded. Male spikes solitary or 2 or 3 together, 5--10 cm, very slender, often borne along specialized, paniclelike, lateral shoots with reduced leaves. Male flowers: solitary or in cymules of 2 or 3, sessile; bracts 3 or 4, brown, membranous; perianth purplish red, drying black, lobes spreading at anthesis, 1.2--1.5 × 0.8--1 mm; stamens 6, inserted at margin of receptacle, filaments extremely short. Female spike to 8 cm. Female flowers: staminodes filiform. Capsule reflexed, long pedicellate, drying blue black, obovoid, 1.4--2 cm, about as long as wide, pruinose, base ± truncate, apex emarginate; wings 0.8--1.2 cm wide. Seeds inserted near middle of capsule, winged all round. Fl. May--Aug, fr. Sep--Oct.
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A yam. It is a climbing vine. The stems twine to the left. The leaves are alternate and simple. The leaves are an oval or triangle shape and usually have enlarged lobes at the base. The leaves are 5-10 cm long by 4-9 cm wide. The male flower spikes can occur singly or as 2 or 3 together. These are 5-10 cm long. The female spikes are 8 cm long. The fruit are capsules on long stalks.
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