A viscid, glandular, spreading shrub up to 1.5 m. tall.. Bark peeling in papery brown rolls.. Stems slightly succulent, emitting a clear yellow juice when cut which later turns reddish.. Young twigs glabrous or densely patent pubescent.. Leaf-blade 3–5-palmatipartite, the lobes obovate, sometimes slightly overlapping, the median lobe 1–3 cm. long, 0.7–2 cm. wide, the laterals progressively smaller, rounded, retuse or emarginate, glandular-denticulate, ciliate, shallowly to deeply cordate, with 4–7 pairs of lateral nerves per lobe, evenly patent pubescent on the main nerves, and sparingly so on the leaf surface, above and beneath, or else quite glabrous, dull green; petiole 0.4–2.8 cm. long, evenly or sparingly patent pubescent or glabrous.. Stipules multifid, the segments subulate, gland-tipped, not more than 2 mm. long, or else the stipules represented by a mass of sessile glands.. Inflorescences leaf-opposed to subterminal, up to 4 cm. long; axis glabrous or patent pubescent; bracts lanceolate, 3–4 mm. long, acute, the margin densely beset with stipitate glands, glabrous or pubescent on both surfaces.. Male flowers: calyx-lobes oblong-lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, acute, glandular-denticulate, glabrous or pubescent without, glabrous within; petals elliptic-oblanceolate, cohering laterally, 4 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, obtuse, glabrous without and within, rarely puberulous, pinkish tinged in bud, later becoming greenish white or yellowish; disc-glands free, erect, turbinate, truncate; stamens 8, with the filaments almost completely united, the 5 outer 2 mm. long, the 3 inner 3 mm. long, anthers ovoid, 0.75 mm. long.. Female flowers: calyx-lobes rather unequal, oblong-lanceolate or linear-oblong to broadly ovate and tricuspidate, 3–4 mm. long, 1–2 mm. wide, accrescent to 5 mm. long and 3 mm. wide in fruit, acute, subacute or obtuse, densely glandular-denticulate, glabrous or evenly puberulous without and glabrous within to densely pubescent without and towards the apex within; petals oblong, cohering laterally, 4 mm. long, 2 mm. wide, rounded, somewhat erose, glabrous without and within, rarely puberulous, greenish white; disc 5–10-lobed, the lobes flattened, ovate, rounded; ovary subglobose, 2 mm. long, 2 mm. diameter, glabrous; styles erect, united for ± one-third of their length, 2 mm. long, stigmas capitate, bilobed or bifid.. Fruit trilobed, each lobe bearing a large apical tubercle or ridge, 9 mm. long, 8 mm. diameter, smooth, bright green, dehiscing septicidally.. Seeds oblong-ellipsoid, 5.5–6.5 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, uniformly greyish brown or sometimes slightly mottled dark brown, somewhat shiny, with a flabelliform crenellated caruncle 2.5 mm. wide.
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