Woody herb, 0.5-1 m, erect, heavily armed; young stems sparsely to densely stellate-pubescent, trichomes porrect, white-translucent or yellowish, stalked, stalks 0.5-2.5 mm, often broad and lignified, rays ± 4, 0.5-1 mm, midpoints ± same length as rays or up to 1 mm; prickles straight, 2-7 mm long, 0.5-1.5 mm wide at base, flattened. Leaf blades drying discolorous to almost concolorous, yellow-green to red-brown, elliptic, 10-35 x 6-20 cm, 1.2-2 times longer than wide, base attenuate (cuneate), usually equal, margin lobed, the lobes (3-)4-5 (-6) on each side, 3-9 cm long, usually with extensive secondary lobing, apically acute to obtuse, extending 1/2-2/3, of the distance to the midvein; apex acute to obtuse; sparsely to densely stellate-pubescent on both sides, trichomes on abaxial surface porrect, stalked, stalks 0.1-0.5 mm, rays 4(-5), 0.4-0.7 mm, midpoints ± same length as rays or up to 0.8 mm, adaxially appearing as simple hairs visible to the naked eye, with bulbous bases and no visible rays, the midpoint 0.5-2 mm; primary veins 5-8 pairs; petiole usually decurrent (0-4 cm), usually less than 1/6 of the leaf length. Inflorescences not branched, 4-7 cm long, with 5-10 flowers; peduncle 0-3 mm long; rachis 1.5-3.5 cm long; peduncle and rachis unarmed or with numerous prickles; pedicels 1.5-3 cm long and stout in long-styled flowers, 0.7-2.5 cm and slender in short-styled flowers, in fruit 1.5-3 cm long, with numerous prickles. Flowers heterostylous, 5-merous, basal one long-styled. Calyx 10-30 mm on long-styled flowers, 8-20 mm long on short-styled flowers, lobes deltate, 12-25 mm on long-styled flowers, 7-10 mm long on short-styled flowers, apically acute to long-acuminate, densely covered in prickles in long-styled flowers. Corolla mauve to purple (white), 3.5-6 cm in diameter on long-styled flowers, 1.5-3.5 cm in diameter on short-styled flowers, lobed for ¬-1/3 of its length, lobes broadly deltate, 5-20 x 10-25 mm on long-styled flowers, 2-7 x 7-15 mm on short-styled flowers. Stamens equal; anthers 6.5-7.5 mm on long-styled flowers, 5.5-7.5 mm on short-styled flowers. Ovary with a few trichomes on the upper 1/3; style 8-13 mm long on long-styled flowers. Berries 1(-2) per infructescence, striped when young, yellow at maturity, spherical, 2.5-4 cm in diameter; fruiting calyx with numerous prickles. Seeds 2.8-4.5 x 2-3.5 mm.
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Unarmed plants occur (var. inerme Bitter) but the occurrence of spines cannot be regarded as of taxonomic importance.
A herb or semi-woody shrub. It can grow 1.5 m high. It can have prickles.
Usually a coarsely hairy and spiny undershrub up to 3 ft. high
Bluish-purple flowers 1-11/2 in. diam.
Usually a forest species, though it is also found on hillsides, savannah, grassland, or wasteland, frequently near water, normally at elevations from 600-1,600 metres, though sometimes descending to sea level.
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A tropical plant. It is grown throughout tropical Africa. It grows in seasonally flooded forests.
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