Lianas; stems, glabrous, often reddish. Leaves simple, cordate, 6-15 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, apex acuminate to attenuate, the base cordate, the margin with re-mote, rounded, glandular teeth, minutely ciliate, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, the upper and the lower surfaces minutely pustulate and usually somewhat puberulent on the veins; petiole 2-8 cm long, slender, striate; tendrils 2-branched near the apex. Staminate flowers axillary, paniculate, the rachis 10-20 cm long, puberulent, each branch with a small, ovate bracteole at the base; pedicels 1-2 mm long, slender; calyx campanulate, greenish yellow, puberulent, ciliate, lobate to near the middle, the lobes broadly lanceolate, ca. 2 mm long, acute; corolla greenish yellow, the lobes broadly obovate, 3-4 mm long, the apex rounded, gla-brous on the outer surface, puberulent toward the base on the inner surface, bearing a narrow flap of tissue on the lower 1/3 of petal separating 2 shallow nectary cups, weakly 7-nerved for most their length; stamens ca. 1 mm long, the anthers about as long as broad, equalling or longer than the filaments. Pistillate flowers disposed as the staminate flowers; calyx and corolla similar to the stami-nate flowers; ovary globose, 3-4 mm in diameter, puberulent, styles ca. 1 mm long, connate to near middle, the stigmas forming a capitate, 3-lobate head. Fruits green, flesh greenish white, globose or subglobose, 7-12 cm in diameter, the surface granular, a circumferential scar near the apex, indehiscent; seeds 6, 2 in each carpel, pendulous, lenticular, 5-6 cm long, 4-5 cm wide, ca. 1 cm thick, white, the testa punctate and minutely echinate.
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A pumpkin family plant. It keeps growing from year to year. It climbs by tendrils in the axils of leaves. It grows 10 m long. The stems are green and a flat cylinder shape. They have lines along them when young. The branches hang down. The tendrils can be divided and 16 cm long. The leaves are alternate and 8-16 cm long by 4-12 cm wide. They are oval or can be 8 sided. The base is heart shaped. The edges curl up. The upper surfaces are dark green and shiny and the lower surfaces are dull pale green. The flowers are yellow to pink. The fruit are a flattened round shape. They are green and 8-12 cm across. The seeds are flattened and 3-6 cm across.
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