A perennial, monoecious, puberulous or subglabrous and often intensely urticating usually sparingly branched herb, erect at first, or less often procumbent, later scandent or twining, up to 3 m. high, though more commonly ± 60 cm. high with many stems arising from a single root.. Petiole (0.2–)1–8.5 cm. long; blade ovate-lanceolate to ovate-oblong, (1–)6–12 cm. long, (0.5–)2–7 cm. wide, acutely acuminate, subtruncate to shallowly or deeply and narrowly cordate, sharply serrate, firmly membranaceous, (5–)7-nerved from the base, lateral nerves 3–5 pairs, not or scarcely prominent above, slightly so beneath, sparingly to evenly puberulous along the midrib and main nerves above and beneath at first, and sparingly to evenly silvery-setose mostly between the nerves, and also on the midrib and nerves toward the base, dark green.. Stipules lanceolate, 2.5–4 mm. long, subglabrous, later becoming reflexed.. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, 3.5–5.5 cm. long, the peduncles 0.5–2 cm. long, fairly lax-flowered, distally ♂ with 2–3 ♀ flowers below; axis puberulous, and with a few stinging hairs towards the base; ♂ bracts ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm. long, acute, sparingly hirsute, occasionally sparingly glandular, 1-flowered; bracteoles linear-lanceolate, 1–1.3 mm. long; ♀ bracts and bracteoles resembling those of ♂, but 1.5–3 mm. and 1.3–2 mm. long respectively.. Male flowers: pedicels (0.5–)1.3–1.5 mm. long, sparingly puberulous; buds trilobate-subglobose, sparingly puberulous; calyx-lobes broadly ovate to suborbicular, 1–1.3 mm. long and wide, minutely apiculate, sparingly puberulous without, glabrous within, greenish-yellow or-cream; stamens 0.8 mm. long, filaments fairly stout, anthers 0.5 mm. across, yellow; pistillode minute or scarcely developed.. Female flowers: pedicels 0.75 mm. long, extending to 2 mm. long in fruit, stouter than those of the ♂ flowers, puberulous; calyx-lobes 3, 1.5 mm. long and wide, extending to 5–7(–8) mm. long and wide in fruit, broadly ovate in outline, with 5–6 linear-lanceolate lobules on each side and a terminal one ± equalling them, the lobules as long as or slightly longer than the width of the rhachis, rhachis sparingly puberulous without, ± glabrous within, the lobules evenly silvery-setose, rhachis and lobules greenish at the base, otherwise yellowish or tawny; ovary strongly trilobate, 1.5 mm. diameter, densely setose on the keels, otherwise adpressed pubescent or puberulous; styles 3, 3–4 mm. long, united for half to two-thirds their length, the free parts strongly recurved, the stigmatic surfaces shallowly rugulose-verruculose.. Fruits strongly trilobate, 4 mm. long, 7 mm. diameter, sparingly setose on the keels, otherwise sparingly puberulous to subglabrous, pale green.. Seeds 3 mm. diameter, dark brown, in places mottled lighter brown, elsewhere with pale grey circular patches, minutely papillose-puberulous.
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