Herb or soft-wooded shrub, 1–2 m. tall, annual or biennial; stems subterete, tomentose, often with long patent hairs, glabrescent, sometimes somewhat glandular-viscid towards the apex. Leaf-lamina up to 20 × 18 cm. (smaller in the upper leaves), broadly ovate-cordate to cordate-acuminate, subentire, glabrescent above, tomentose or stellate-pubescent beneath; petiole usually ± as long as the corresponding lamina (but shorter or almost absent in the upper leaves), subterete, finely pubescent. Flowers yellow, in axils of uppermost leaves forming narrow terminal pseudo-panicles; pedicels usually less than 3 cm. long in flower, up to c. 6 cm. long in fruit, articulated in upper 10 mm., ferruginous-tomentose or pubescent. Calyx 10–12 mm. long, pubescent to tomentose and ciliate, divided about half-way down; tube cupuliform; lobes 5–8 × 2·5–5 mm., triangular or somewhat ovate-acute. Petals c. 20 mm. long, yellow. Staminal column pubescent on upper portion, glabrous towards the base. Fruit of 9–16 ultimately stellately spreading blackish mericarps; mericarps 11 × 3 mm., glabrescent, gradually or abruptly attenuate at the apex into a subulate apical awn, 3-seeded. Seeds c. 1·5 × 1·5 mm., black, smooth, sometimes with a tuft of hairs near the hilum.
