Climber with one (or few) shoots to 5(-10) m long from a supra-terranean club-shaped or ovoid tuber to 25 cm diam.; leafy stem subterete or ± angular, c. 3 mm diam., with long or short hairs. Tendrils finely pubescent. Leaves: petiole 4-10 cm long, long-hairy; blade ovate, 9-30 by 8-22 cm, upper surface sparsely appressed-hairy, lower surface variously hairy and with many blackish glandular hairs, cystoliths not obvious, base deeply cordate, margin sparsely minutely dentate, apex acute-acuminate. Male inflorescences: a simple or once branched raceme, (10-)20 cm long, the flowers ± crowded at the apex of the inflorescence branches; bracts minute, 1(-2) mm long or mostly absent; peduncle 5-13 cm long; all parts finely hairy; female flowers solitary (or 2 in a reduced raceme to 1 cm long). Male flowers finely hairy; pedicel 15-30 mm long; receptacle-tube bowl-shaped, c. 10 by 5 mm; disc not obvious, but base of receptacle-tube ± thickened; sepals triangular, c. 5 mm long, 5 mm wide at base, apex obtuse or subacute, receptacle and sepals outside with conspicuous anastomosing-netted veins; petals broadly elliptic, (10-)15 mm long, 4-8 mm wide at base, apex rounded, inner surface finely papillose, at base with 2 large and 2 or 3 smaller scales, these together with the thickened bases of the filaments concealing a hollow in the basal portion of the receptacle-tube; stamens erect or ± curved, filaments 5-7 mm long, anthers c. 4 mm long, thecae curved with one arm shorter. Female flowers: pedicel 10(-20) mm long; ovary ovoid-ellipsoid, c. 10 mm long, hairy; perianth as in male flowers; style (China) 4-5 mm long, 3-armed. Fruit solitary (or 2), ripening greenish yellow, subglobose, 5-8 cm diam., hairy, partly glabrescent; pericarp thin, c. 1 mm thick, woody; fruit pulp whitish, enclosing numerous densely packed seeds. Seeds c. 15 mm diam., pale brown, corky, with broad 3-layered margin, the middle layer largest, the proper seed (excluding margin) elliptic in outline, c. 8 mm long.
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Plants to 20 m; all parts densely yellow-brown pubescent and red (black when dry) glandular-scaly. Roots enlarged. Petiole 3.5-10 cm; leaf blade ovate-cordate, 10-27 × 2-5.5 cm, membranous, palmately 5-7-veined. Male flowers: 5-15(to many) in a raceme or panicle; peduncle 2-12 cm; pedicels 15-30 mm; calyx tube broadly campanulate, 12-15 mm in diam.; segments ovate-triangular, 3-5 × 7-9 mm, 3-veined, apex obtuse; corolla pale yellow, 3.4-4 cm in diam.; segments ovate-oblong, 15-20 × 9-13 mm, margin with glandular hairs, base with 3 membranous scales, 5-veined, apex obtuse; filaments sparsely glandular hairy. Female flowers solitary or paired; calyx and corolla as in male flowers but smaller; staminodes (3-)5; corolla base with 3 scales; ovary ovoid, 12-15 × 9-10 mm, densely velvety and glandular-scaly, base obtuse-rounded, apex truncate; style 4-5 mm, glabrous, 3-lobed; stigma reniform. Fruit subglobose, ca. 6 cm in diam., velvety at first, glabrescent. Seeds numerous, pale brown, ovoid, 12-14 × 11-13 mm, ca. 4 mm thick, with 3-layered wings; wing corky, margin irregularly dentate, median 3-5 mm wide, lateral 1-2 mm wide. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.
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