A woody climber that grows to a height of 30m; stems are glabrous and tendrils are linear. The leaves are simple and spiral; the petiole is stout, 4–8cm long, and striate and the blade is coriaceous, 3–5-lobed, and up to 20cm × 15cm long. The flowers are yellow outside and white inside, narrowly tubular, 8cm – 10cm × 7mm – 9mm and 5-lobed; the lobes are triangular-lanceolate and 5mm long. The fruits are large, pale brown to reddish-brown, globose, 20cm × 15cm long, and contain a few woody seeds which are 7cm × 3cm.

Antipyretic (decoction of leaves)

To heal nasal ulcers and other nasal complaints (decoction of leaves or smoke of burned leaves); rubbed onto the abdomen after childbirth and applied to the breast to deflate swelling (seed oil).

Christophe Wiart. Medicinal Plants of Asia and the Pacific, P:111-112, CRC Press, June 2006.