Herbs, perennial, from a slender reddish rootstock. Stems erect to ascending, weak to procumbent and often climbing, sometimes up to 2.5 m, 4-angled, sparsely to densely retrorsely aculeolate along angles and at nodes, rarely ± glabrescent. Leaves on main stems in whorls of 5 or 6, subsessile; blade drying papery, of very variable shape, from obovate and elliptic-oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, (11-)15-40(-55) × (2-)3-10(-14), sparsely to densely retrorsely aculeolate adaxially along midrib, abaxially, and along flat to thinly reflexed margins, base acute to cuneate, apex acute to obtuse and mucronate; vein 1. Inflorescences paniculate, with axillary and terminal, several-to many-flowered, usually very lax and up to 7 cm long cymes; axes filiform and often flexuous, sparsely aculeolate to glabrous; bracts few, lanceolate; pedicels slender, in flower 2-5 mm. Ovary obovoid, ca. 0.8 mm, with dense spreading or appressed undeveloped trichomes, or glabrous. Corolla white or pale green, rotate, of quite different sizes, (1-)1.5-3(-4) mm in diam., glabrous; lobes 4, triangular, obtuse to acute or minutely apiculate. Mericarps ellipsoid, ca. 2 mm, with appressed or spreading and uncinate trichomes (0.3-0.5 mm), tuberculate to completely glabrous and smooth, on pedicels elongating to 10 mm or more. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Jul-Nov.
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