A slender, dioecious woody climber up to 5 m long, young stems yellowish tomentose, glabrescent, root tuberous, up to 30 cm in diameter. Leaves alternate, simple, broadly triangular-ovate, 5—10 cm x 5—10 cm, base shallowly cordate or truncate, apex broadly rounded or obtuse, apiculate, margin broadly and shallowly crenate, palmately 5-veined, papyraceous, lower surface tomentose or softly pubescent, upper surface sparsely pubescent; petiole 3—7 cm long, yellowish tomentose; stipules absent. Inflorescence axillary, a cyme, fasciculate, 2—6 together in male plants, solitary in female plants, 2—4 cm long, yellowish tomentose, pedunculate; flowers fragrant, white or yellow, sepals 9, hairy outside, 3 outer ones narrow, minute, 3 middle ones oblanceolate, 3 inner ones obovate, all 1 mm long, petals 6, obcuneate, 0.5 mm long, glabrous; male flowers stamens 6, free, 0.8 mm long; female flowers staminodes 6, filamentose, carpels 3, stigma deeply bifid recurved. Fruit a drupe, transversely obovate, purple to black, glabrous; endocarp rotund in outline, ornate with rows of spines and tubercles. Seed horseshoe-shaped.

Narcotic (roots); antipyretic (leaves).

PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation

The leaves are an ingredient of an infusion to cure high fever, and in combination with other plants they are made into an infusion used for coughs and asthma. The pounded leaves are used externally applied to soothe headache. The stem juice is used as eye-drops for conjunctivitis. The mucilage resulting from soaking pounded leaves overnight is applied on the head as a remedy for hair loss and taken orally to cure a swollen spleen and accompanying fevers. The fluid extract of the roots is used to treat snake bites.