Gerrardanthus lobatus (Cogn.) C.Jeffrey

Perennial climber to 6 m.; stems subsucculent, becoming rather woody with smooth greyish bark, expanded at the base into a greenish dome-like semi-subterranean tuber up to 50 cm. or more across.. Leaf-blade broadly ovate-or reniform-cordate in outline, slightly fleshy, somewhat glaucous, practically glabrous, 31–100 mm. long, 44–124 mm. broad, ± deeply 5-lobed, less often unlobed; lobes triangular, ± shortly acuminate, apiculate; petiole very sparsely short-hairy or glabrous, 15–80 mm. long.. Male flowers 4–45 or more in 20–100 mm. long panicles; peduncles 2–15 mm. long; pedicels 2–20 mm. long; receptacle-tube shallow; lobes ovate-lanceolate, 2–4 mm. long; petals brownish-green or dull brownish-orange, unequal, 2 large, oblanceolate, erect, 10–18 mm. long, 2.5–5.5 mm. broad, 3 small, linear, reflexed, rather paler, 9–16 mm. long, 1–2 mm. broad; stamens 4, connate by the anthers into two pairs; connective apically produced; fifth (unpaired) stamen represented by a subulate staminode.. Female flowers sometimes solitary, more usually 2–3 in panicles on 15–30 mm. long peduncles; pedicels 1–8 mm. long; ovary trigonous, 7–10 mm. long, 2–3 mm. across; receptacle-lobes ovate-lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm. long; petals unequal, 3 broad, erect, 8–10 mm. long, 2–2.5 mm. broad, 2 spreading or reflexed, 7–8 mm. long, 1 mm. broad.. Fruits 1–3, with the faces very obscurely 2-veined and not reticulate, rarely distinctly so but then the nerves ± parallel, 45–63 mm. long, 18–28 mm. across the faces; peduncle 14–62 mm. long; pedicels 1–15 mm. long.. Seeds fusiform, with a broad somewhat asymmetrically inserted wing, 25–44 mm. long, with the body of the seed 12–22 mm. long, 1.8–3.5 mm. across and the wing 14–22 mm. long, 6–9 mm. broad.. Fig. 25, p. 146.