A perennial, monoecious, pubescent and/or puberulous, urticating, moderately branched erect herb up to 50 cm. tall, somewhat woody at the base, rarely twining at the apex.. Petiole 0.5–1(–3) mm. long; blade ovate-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, (2–)3–6(–9) cm. long, 1–3(–4) cm. wide, acute or subacute and sometimes mucronulate, subhastate-cordate and amplexicaul, coarsely and somewhat irregularly dentate-serrate, especially in the lower third, firmly membranaceous to thinly chartaceous, (3–)5-nerved from the base, lateral nerves (3–)4–6 pairs, not prominent above, prominent beneath, sparingly hispid to setose or subglabrous above, sparingly to evenly hispid or setose especially along the midrib and main nerves beneath.. Stipules lanceolate, 2–3 mm. long, glabrous on both surfaces, ciliate on the margins, strongly reflexed.. Inflorescences leaf-opposed or with the base of the peduncle adnate to the stem and then appearing to arise from the internode, 1–2.5(–4) cm. long, the peduncles 0.5–1 (–3) cm. long, densely flowered, distally ♂, with 1–2 ♀ flowers below; axis densely pubescent and setose at first, later becoming more evenly so; ♂ bracts lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm. long, acute, glabrous, ciliate, 1-flowered; bracteoles linear, 0.8–1 mm. long; ♀ bracts 2 mm. long, and bracteoles 1.3 mm. long, otherwise as in ♂.. Male flowers: pedicels ± 1 mm. long, sparingly pubescent; buds somewhat trilobate; calyx-lobes suborbicular-ovate, ± 1 mm. long and wide, minutely apiculate, with 1–2 hairs at the base, otherwise glabrous, green or reddish tinged; stamens 0.8 mm. long, filaments fairly stout, anthers 0.4 mm. across; pistillode trifid, flat, its segments dilated at the apex.. Female flowers: pedicels 0.5–1 mm. long, extending to 3 mm. long in fruit, stouter than those of ♂, pubescent; calyx-lobes 3(–5), 1.5 mm. long and wide, extending to 3.5 mm. long and 6.5 mm. wide in fruit, suborbicular to broadly or transversely ovate in outline, with 3–4 linear lobules on each side and a terminal one not differing from them, the lobules as long as or slightly longer than the width of the rhachis, rhachis puberulous without, ± glabrous within, the lobules setose, rhachis and lobules purplish green without, rhachis becoming whitish within; ovary trilobate, 1.5 mm. diameter, densely setose; styles 3, 1.5–2 mm. long, united only at the base, the free parts becoming divaricate and recurved at the apex, the stigmatic surfaces slightly rugulose, refringent.. Fruits trilobate, 4 mm. long, 7.5 mm. diameter, puberulous between the lobes, densely setose on the keels.. Seeds 2.5 mm. diameter, light brown, faintly mottled with darker brown.
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