A much-branched annual or perennial herb, or suffrutex, dioecious; stems weak, trailing or scrambling, up to 3 m in extent, hollow, cylindric, ribbed, green.Leaves opposite.Petioles 1–5 cm long.Leaf blades 2–8 × 1–4 cm, triangular-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acutely acuminate at the apex, serrate, cuneate to rounded, truncate or cordate, membranous, 5–7-nerved from the base, light green; lateral nerves in 1–4 pairs.Stipules dissected, the segments up to 4 mm long, subulate-filiform, persistent.Stipels resembling the stipules, but not more than 1 mm long.Male inflorescences up to 15 cm long and 20 cm across, laxly paniculate; bracts 1–3 cm long, narrowly-lanceolate, ± entire, cuneate-attenuate, grading below into the leaves.Female inflorescences resembling the male, but generally somewhat smaller.Male flowers: pedicels up to 3 mm long; sepals 1–2 mm long, linear, greenish; disk glands minute; stamens 6–12, c. 1 mm long, anthers yellowish.Female flowers: pedicels up to 5 mm long; sepals 2–2.5 mm long, linear-lanceolate, green; disk glands c. 0.5 mm long, compressed-cylindric-infundibuliform; ovary c. 1 mm in diameter, 3-lobed; styles 1.2 mm long, bifid, inflexed at the tip.Fruit 2 × 3 mm, 3-lobed, apically tricuspidate, smooth, green.Seeds 1.5 mm in diameter, foveolate, dark purplish-brown with whitish pits.