a tall climber, with a moderately stout herbaceous stem; leaves sheathing; the sheath open to the middle, with the thin membranous margins often closely overlapping but never connate to the top; the blade 4 1/2–9 in. long, 6–13 lin. broad, elongate-lanceolate, gradually tapering from about the middle into a spiral tendril at the apex, abruptly contracted into a rounded base immediately above the sheath; panicle terminal, 3–4 1/2 in. long, 2–4 in. broad, pyramidal, with ascending or spreading branches, the lower ones subtended by leafy bracts, the upper bractless; bracteoles minute, hyaline, ovate or suborbicular, obtuse or subacute; flowers subsessile along the rather slender, flexuose or zigzag ultimate branchlets of the panicle, usually with distinct internodes between them, whitish or pale yellowish; perianth campanulate; the segments 1–1 1/2 lin. long, 2/3 line broad, the 3 outer ones shorter than the inner three, oblong obtuse, subpetaloid; stamens ultimately much exserted, with filaments 2–2 1/2 lin. long, and linear-oblong anthers, sagittate at the base, 1 1/4–1 1/3 lin. long; ovary narrow, trigonous; stigmas 2/3– 3/4 line long, linear, rather stout, exserted and recurving over the tips of the perianth-segments; berries globose, 2–3 lin. in diam., bright red. null
