A perennial, monoecious, moderately branched, sparingly or evenly pubescent, weakly urticating procumbent or ascending herb up to 7.5 cm. tall.. Petiole (1–)2–4.5 cm. long; blade ovate or triangular-ovate and hastate, 3–6 cm. long, 2–5 cm. wide, acute or subacute, widely shallowly or moderately cordate, shallowly crenate-serrate, firmly membranaceous to thinly chartaceous, 5-nerved from the base, lateral nerves 2–4 pairs, not prominent above, prominent beneath, subglabrous above, sparingly setose along the midrib and main nerves beneath.. Stipules falcate-ovate to falcate-lanceolate, 5–10 mm. long, 4–5(–6) mm. wide, acute, rounded on one side at the base, multinerved from the base, glabrous on both surfaces, ciliate on the margins, erect.. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, 2–9 cm. long, the peduncles 1–7 cm. long, ♂ at the tips with 2–3 basal ♀ flowers; axis at first densely later sparingly or evenly puberulous and pubescent, with a few urticating hairs, and minutely glandular; ♂ bracts lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm. long, acute, sparingly ciliate, 1(–3)-flowered, pale green; bracteoles linear-lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm. long, ciliate and minutely and obscurely glandular; ♀ bracts elliptic-lanceolate, sometimes bifid at the apex, 3–4 mm. long, 1.5–2.5 mm. wide; bracteoles lanceolate, 2.5–3 mm. long, otherwise as ♂.. Male flowers: pedicels 1–1.5 mm. long, pubescent, articulate at the base; buds turbinate; calyx-lobes elliptic, 1.3–1.5 mm. long, apiculate and cucullate, subglabrous, green; stamens 1 mm. long, filaments slender, anthers minute; pistillode very small, trifid, the segments bifid.. Female flowers: pedicels 2 mm. long, thicker than in ♂, densely pubescent; calyx-lobes 3, 2–3 mm. long and wide, extending to 8–10 mm. long and wide in fruit, broadly ovate in outline, laciniate into 13 linear or filiform segments, 6 on each side, the terminal one resembling the others, all segments shorter than the rhachis, pubescent, green, the rhachis pubescent or subglabrous without, glabrous within, creamy, becoming woody at the base, and straw-coloured or tawny when dried, except at the base, which is greenish; ovary trilobate, 2 mm. diameter, densely setose on the keels, otherwise glabrous or subglabrous; styles 3, 3 mm. long, united for half their length, glabrous, the stigmas tightly recurved, smooth.. Fruits trilobate, 4 mm. long, 6 mm. diameter, smooth, evenly setose on the keels, otherwise glabrous, pale green.. Seeds 3.5 mm. diameter, dark purple, marbled pale grey, and beset with whitish spots, the spots with elevated margins.. Fig. 59.
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Female flowers subsessile, but developing a pedicel c. 2 mm long in fruit; calyx lobes 3, 1.5 × 1.5 mm, accrescent to 7 × 7 mm, each lobe palmately 13–15-lobulate, the lobules linear, shorter than the width of the calyx-lobe rhachis, hirsute and setose, green, the calyx-lobe rhachis broadly ovate-suborbicular, sparingly puberulous without, glabrous within, yellowish, becoming hardened and whitish within; ovary 1 mm in diameter, 3-lobed, densely setose on the keels, otherwise puberulous; styles 3, 2–3 mm long, connate for half their length, puberulous, stigmas ± smooth, spreading.
Inflorescences up to 4 cm long on a peduncle up to 2 cm long, leaf-opposed, or terminal on short axillary shoots, consisting mostly of male flowers with 1–2 female flowers at the base; male bracts 1.5–2 mm long, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate; male bracteoles 1 mm long, linear-lanceolate; female bracts c. 3 × 2 mm, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, sometimes bifid at the apex; female bracteoles resembling the male bracts.
Leaf blade 3–6 × 2–3.5 cm, triangular-ovate to triangular-lanceolate, acute at the apex, crenate-serrate on the margins, shallowly wide-cordate at the base, chartaceous, 5-nerved from the base, sparingly pubescent on upper surface, sparingly weakly hirsute along the midrib and main nerves beneath; lateral nerves in 2–4 pairs, not prominent above, prominent beneath.
Male flowers: pedicels 1 mm long; buds turbinate; calyx lobes 1.3 mm long, elliptic, apiculate, cucullate, subglabrous; stamens 3, 1 mm long; pistillode trifid, the segments bifid.
Stipules erect, 5–10 × 4–7 mm, falcate-ovate to falcate-lanceolate, acute, entire, rounded on one side at the base, many-nerved from the base, glabrous but for the ciliate margins.
Seeds 3.5 mm in diameter, subglobose, grey, streaked and flecked with dark purplish-brown, with scattered tawny spots and with a mass of white papillae near the hilum.
A weakly urticating perennial herb up to 90 cm tall, suberect at first, later twining at the top, monoecious.
Fruit 4 × 7 mm, 3-lobed, smooth, setose on the keels, otherwise sparingly puberulous.
Stems puberulous and weakly hirsute.
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