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A climbing herb. A pumpkin family plant. It can grow 8 m long. It is roughly hairy on all parts. The tendrils are divided into 2. The leaves vary. They have 5 lobes and are 5-18 cm long by 7-26 cm wide. There are sharp teeth along the edge. The leaf stalk is 2-13 cm long. The flowers are bright yellow. The male flowers are along a stalk 8-36 cm long. They have green to yellow bracts 3 cm long. The flowers are 4-8 cm across. They have a sweet scent and open at night. The female flowers are also on long stalks. The fruit stalks are 7 cm long. The fruit have a bright red and hairy skin. The fruit are 15 cm long. They can be orange with green streaks. The seeds are small and dark.
male racemes 4–15-flowered; peduncle 3–21 cm. long; pedicels of basal solitary flower 4–25 cm. long, of racemose flowers 3–25 mm. long; bracts 8–31 mm. long, lanceolate to elliptic or broadly ovate, cucullate, apiculate, usually shortly adnate to the pedicel. Receptacle-tube 15–32 mm. long, setulose; lobes 6–13 mm. long, lanceolate, narrow. Petals 1·9–4·8 cm. long, white to pale yellow, obovate, apiculate.
Leaf-lamina 5–18 × 7–26 cm., broadly ovate in outline, cordate, setulose above and beneath especially on veins, becoming hispid or scabrid-punctate above, sinuate-denticulate at the margins, palmately 5-lobed; lobes triangular to ovate or ovate-elliptic, obtuse to acute, shortly acuminate, apiculate, the central largest.
Female flowers on 1–5·5 cm. long pedicels; ovary 15–26 × 10–14 mm., ellipsoid, densely pubescent; receptacle-tube 11–22 mm. long; lobes 6–13 mm. long, linear-lanceolate; petals 2·6–3·8 cm. long.
Stems to 8 m., scandent or prostrate, glabrous or variously hispid or setulose.
Fruit 4–14 × 3–5 cm., ellipsoid, pubescent; fruit-stalk 2–7 cm. long.
Petiole 2–13 cm. long, setulose or hispid.
Flowers white or pale sulphur-yellow.
Seeds 6–10 × 3–5 × 1–1·5 mm.
Tendrils stout.
