Morphological Description

Plants usually moderate to high climbing, sometimes sprawling, sparsely branched. Branches: bark exfoliating in shreds; nodal diaphragms to 0.5 mm thick; branchlets terete, glabrous or sparsely hirtellous, growing tips enveloped by unfolding leaves, glabrous or sparsely hairy; tendrils along length of branchlets, persistent, branched, tendrils (or inflorescences) at only 2 consecutive nodes; nodes not red-banded. Leaves: stipules 3–5 mm; petiole 1/2 to ± equaling blade; blade cordate, 6–20 cm, 3-shouldered to shallowly 3-lobed, apex short acuminate, abaxial surface not glaucous, glabrate, visible through hairs, veins and vein axils hirtellous, adaxial surface glabrous. Inflorescences (4–)9–12 cm. Flowers functionally unisexual. Berries black, heavily glaucous, globose, 8–12 mm diam., skin separating from pulp; lenticels absent.