Climbers. Branchlets glabrous, occasionally with long spreading stiff hairs. Branches solid or becoming hollow. Leaves elliptic to lanceolate or obovate, 2-10 × 1-5 cm, abaxially glaucous and glabrous or adpressed puberulent, occasionally strigose and glandular hairy, adaxially glabrous, base obtuse to rounded and decurrent to short petiole and sometimes slightly united with opposite leaf blade, margin cartilaginous, occasionally ciliate, apex obtuse and mucronulate. Inflorescence fragrant, shortly pedunculate at apices of branchlets with 1 or 2 involucral bracts of perfoliate leaves 2.5-9 cm across, apex acute to acuminate; flowers sessile and verticillate, 6 per whorl; whorls 1-3 clustered into a capitulum; internode below involucral bract 1-6 cm; bracts lanceolate, to 2 mm; bracteoles suborbicular, ca. 1 mm, glabrous. Ovaries glabrous or occasionally with long stiff hairs and minute glandular hairs. Calyx lobes triangular, minute, glabrous. Corolla bilabiate, white or yellow, 1.5-2.5 cm, outside glabrous to sparsely pubescent with minute glandular hairs; tube shallowly gibbous toward base, 10-20 mm, inside puberulent; upper lip shallowly 4-lobed; lower lip narrowly oblong. Stamens and style exserted. Berries red, black when mature. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. Sep-Oct.
Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.
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