Liana, sometimes a tree (?). Twigs glabrous, branchlets greyish and fairly smooth. Leaves ovate or suborbicular to lanceolate, 8-25 by 3-12 cm, chartaceous to stiff-coriaceous, glabrous, base subcordate to broadly cuneate, apex blunt to rounded and rather abruptly shortly blunt-acuminate to gradually acute-acuminate, sometimes even caudate; 3-5(-7)-plinerved, inner nerves usually diverging fairly high above the base (up to c. 2 cm) and in the eastern races usually at a different height, venation often coarse-scalariform; petiole 3-15 mm. Leaves sometimes not acuminate at apex; lower side mostly smooth to rarely minutely papillose. Inflorescences axillary and/or terminal, usually large (up to c. 15 cm long), widely branched and many-flowered (in some western races only a few cm long and with some flowers), partly or completely thinly tomentose or subglabrous. Calyx 1-3 mm, outside (glabrous to) sparsely to densely short-tomentose, inside glabrous, sepals broad-ovate to suborbicular, blunt to rounded, rarely acute. Corolla 3—6.5 mm long, about halfway connate, outside glabrous (except sometimes in young buds) inside at least about the mouth, at most from about halfway the tube to the mouth, rarely also on the lobes, (mostly densely) woolly, lobes slightly thickened only. Stamens inserted in the mouth, filament up to 1½ mm, glabrous, anther ovate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic to oblong, 0.75-1.5 mm long, blunt or minutely apiculate, glabrous or barbate. Pistil 2-6 mm, ovary completely or for the greater part hairy, style often glabrous, sometimes in the basal half, rarely completely hairy, indument sparse to fairly dense, shaggy to woolly. Fruits many, globular, 2.5-3 cm ø, sometimes ellipsoid and 3.5 cm long, thin-walled, glabrous and smooth to minutely warty. Seeds 1-8, often 2, lenticular, 12-15 by 10-12 by 2-4 mm, minutely densely tomentose.
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Woody climber, probably without spines, glabrous or occasionally minutely hairy; tendrils double. Leaves glabrous or occasionally minutely hairy; petiole 3–8 mm long; lamina narrowly ovate to lanceolate, 8–15 cm long, 3–6.5 cm wide; minor veins conspicuous. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, 4–20 cm long, laxly branched, tomentose to subglabrous. Calyx 1–2 mm long; outer surface tomentose, occasionally glabrous. Corolla ±campanulate, 4–5 mm long, 2/5-connate, white; inner surface of tube long-pilose distally; lobes thickened. Stamens inserted in corolla mouth. Gynoecium 2–4 mm long; ovary pubescent to pilose, glabrous at base; style often glabrous. Fruits fleshy, globular, 2–4 cm diam., thin walled, orange to yellow, smooth to minutely warty. Seeds 1–8, often 2, often flattened, ellipsoidal, c. 14 mm long, minutely densely tomentose.
Primary and secondary forest, in New Guinea also in Araucaria forest; at elevations up to 1,850 metres. Gallery forest and lowland rain forest, at elevations up to 400 metres in Australia.
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Growing in mixed mesophyll, deciduous vine forest andgallery rainforest; associated with primary and secondary forests from sea level to c. 1500 m.
Primary and secondary forests, in New Guinea also in mixed Araucaria forests, from sea-level up to 1850 m. Fl. mainly July-Nov., fr. Jan.-Dec.
Uses. The wood, bark, and roots are medicinally used (snake-wood). A decoction of these parts is used as a poison for arrows, the vine for tying purposes.
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