Vines to more than 10 m tall; branchlets orbicular or compressed orbicular in cross section, smooth, sometimes wrinkled longitudinally. Petiole 0.8-1.5 cm; leaf blade usually oblong, sometimes oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, 10-25 × 4-11 cm, leathery or nearly so, lateral veins 8-13 on each side, base rounded or broadly cuneate, apex obtuse to acute. Male inflorescences lax, once or twice branched, 2.5-6 cm; peduncle 6-12 mm; male spikes 2-3 cm × 2.5-3 mm, involucral collars 13-18, each collar with (20-)25-45 flowers plus 10-15 sterile female flowers, basal hairs forming a dense, short cushion. Female inflorescences lateral, solitary or fascicled, main axis thin, with 3 or 4 pairs of branches; peduncle 2-3 cm; female spikes 2-3 cm × ca. 4 mm, enlarging to ca. 10 cm when mature, nodes each with 5-8 female flowers, basal hairs sparse, short. Seeds yellowish brown or reddish brown, cylindric-ovoid or cylindric, (1-)1.2-1.5(-2) cm × 6.5-9(-12) mm, 1.6-1.85 × as long as wide, base rounded, sometimes contracted into a stipe to 3(-5) mm, outer coat smooth or ± longitudinally wrinkled when dried, sometimes covered with silvery scales. Pollination Apr-Jun, seed maturity Aug-Oct.
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A vine or climber that grows to more than 10 m tall. The small branches are circular in cross section with wrinkles along them. The leaf stalk is 0.8-1.5 cm long and the leaf blade usually oblong and 10-25 cm long by 4-11 cm wide. They are leathery with 8-13 side veins on each side. The base of the leaf is rounded and the tip pointed. The male flower stalk is a loose arrangement 2.5-6 cm long. The male spikes are 2-3 cm long by 2-3 mm wide. There are 13-18 collars and 45-60 flowers on each spike. The female flower arrangement have 3-4 pairs of branches. The female spikes are 2-3 cm long by 4 mm wide. The seeds are reddish brown and oval shaped. They are about 1.5 cm long and 0.9 cm wide.
The seeds yield an edible oil, are eaten fried, and are used for making wine; the sap is used as a cold drink. The seeds are eaten raw or boiled.
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