Climber to 20 m long, grey-rusty hairy, partly glabrescent, leafy stem 2-5 mm diam., 5-7-ribbed, growing stem apex reddish tinged; dioecious. Probract narrowly elliptic or linear, 10-20 by c. 2 mm, at apex entire or finely lobed and ± hooded, glands absent. Tendrils 2-or 3-branched. Leaves: petiole 3-9.5 cm long; blade reddish brown on drying, membranous, simple, shallowly or deeply 3-5(-7)-lobed to 1/3-4/5 deep, in outline circular or broadly ovate, 9-23 by 8-22 cm, scabrous above, finely grey-rusty hairy beneath, glands few or several, towards the insertion of the petiole, 0.5-1 mm diam., cystoliths abundant on petiole and blade, margin sparsely minutely dentate, occasionally at base coarsely dentate; veins 5(-7), palmate, straight. Male raceme rusty hairy; peduncle 7-15 cm long, 2-3 mm thick; rachis not thickened, 7-8 cm long, 5-15-flowered; bracts subpersistent, obovate-rhomboid, (20-)30-50 by 20-35 mm, margin irregularly incised or slenderly lobed to (2-)5-10 mm deep, glands absent. Male flowers: pedicel 5-10 mm long, subpersistent; receptacle-tube 40-50 mm long, at throat 8-10 mm wide; sepals long-triangular or narrowly elliptic, 15-22 mm long, 5-7 mm wide at base, with few sidelobes to 5 mm long (entire in female flowers); petals white, ± obovate, 15-20 mm long, threads pinkish at apex, 5-10 mm long; synandrium 10-13 mm long, filaments glabrous, c. 4 mm long. Female flowers: pedicel (10-)25-50 mm long; ovary densely hairy, (narrowly) ellipsoid, c. 15 by 4-5 mm; receptacle-tube 30-40 mm long, at throat 6-7 mm wide; sepals narrowly triangular, (10-)15 mm long, entire; petals 12-14 mm long, threads c. 5 mm long; style c. 25 mm long, glabrous, stigma c. 15 mm long. Fruit ripening evenly orange-red, early glabrescent, broadly ovoid-ellipsoid, 5-10 by 4-6(-8) cm, apex 2-5 mm beaked; exocarp leathery; pericarp firm-carnose, dry pericarp 5-10 mm thick; pulp green-black, bitter; fruiting pedicel (1.5-)2-5.5 cm long, 3-4 mm thick. Seeds blackish, compressed, (narrowly) elliptic, or obliquely obovate, 8-13 by 4-5.5(-8) by 1-2 mm (but see note), base rounded or slightly cuneate, apex rounded, margin absent, edge entire.
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