Climbers, sometimes forming large lianas. Leaves opposite; distinctly petiolate; blade usually with distantly spaced secondary veins, punctate beneath; glands absent in the axils. Inflorescence a cyme; axillary and/or terminal; flowers 4-merous. Sepals 4, outer and inner pair sometimes slightly different sizes, with many small colleters at base inside. Corolla lobes sinistrorse; open corolla salverform. Stamens completely included in the tube, free from the style head; filaments short, filiform; anthers narrowly ovate, rounded at the base, fertile entire length. Disk absent. Ovary syncarpous, bilocular, with 2 or 3 ovules in each cell; style short; style head globose. Fruit a berry, pulpy inside. Seeds simple, with a membranous testa.
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