Home
Flowers pedicellate, 1–3 in the axil of each bract, arranged in leafless spiciform terminal or axillary racemes up to 30 cm long or more; bracts up to 25 mm apart, 3–4 mm long, obliquely truncate, acute or acuminate with a fringe of setae at the apex; pedicels filiform, pubescent, those of hermaphrodite flowers lengthening to exceed the bracts by 4–6 mm, becoming patent and later reflexed; pedicels of male flowers not exceeding the bracts by more than c. 3 mm, withering, not lengthening or reflexed.
Leaves petiolate; lamina 2–3 × 1.5–1.8 cm, deltate to deltate-ovate or deltate-lanceolate, with the margins entire or slightly uneven but not deeply lobed, acute and sometimes ± aristate at the apex, truncate to cuneate at the base, rarely sagittate, glabrous on upper surface, pubescent on margins and veins of the undersurface, undersurface sometimes pustular; petiole 1–1.5 cm long, pubescent.
A herb. The stems are slender and are finely hairy along one side. There are many branches. The stems can be 1 m long. The leaves are wedge shaped at the base. The leaves are 25 cm long and 15 cm wide. The leaves are oval and entire. The flowers are white or greenish. The fruit have 3 spreading spines.
Nut pendulous, 5–6.5(7) mm long, fusiform, trigonous, glabrous or pubescent, with 3 spreading prickles c. 1 mm long arising on the angles at or slightly below the middle.
Ocrea light brown, membranous, up to 1 cm long, pubescent, truncate with a fringe of reddish-brown setae at the apex; setae may exceed ocrea tube in length.
Hermaphrodite flowers strongly heterostylous; perianths white or greenish outside, 5–6-lobed; lobes 1.5 mm long and broadly linear or ovate.
Stems herbaceous, weak, reddish, up to 1 m long, much branched, longitudinally striate, glabrous to pubescent.
Styles of long-styled flowers 2 mm long and connate below for 0.75 mm; short-styled flowers not seen.
A slender straggling or trailing annual or short-lived perennial herb.
Male flowers 5-lobed; lobes narrowly oblong, obtuse at the apex.
