Flora of North America species comparison

perennial, climbing, branching zigzag, terete, 5–9 m × 5–8 mm, woody, glabrous;

prickles numerous, sparse or absent distally, flattened, rigid, stout, to 4 mm.

annual, erect to leaning, with bladeless bracts proximally, leaves distally, 0.3–0.8 m, herbaceous;

prickles absent.

evergreen;

petiole 0.5–1.2 cm;

blade green abaxially, drying to brownish green, narrowly ovate to ovate-elliptic, with 3 prominent veins, secondary veins obscure to prominent, 4.5–6(–8.5) × 2–3.5 cm, not glaucous, glabrous or minutely pubescent abaxially, base auriculate, pandurate, or rounded, cuneate at insertion of petiole, margins entire, apex acute to abruptly deflexed point.

mostly distal (upper 1/2–2/3 of plant);

petiole thin, shorter than blade;

tendrils few and short or absent;

blade thin, broadly elliptic-ovate to subrotund, 9–12 × 5–9 cm, pubescent and not glaucous abaxially, base cordate to truncate, margins entire, convex, apex round to acuminate.

3–8, terminal, axillary to leaves, 5–8(–25)-flowered, loose;

peduncle 0.2–1.5 cm.

1–3, proximalmost axillary to bracts below leaves, to 25-flowered, hemispherical to globose.

perianth green;

tepals: staminate 6–8 mm, pistillate 3–4 mm;

ovule 1 per locule;

pedicel 0.2–1 cm.

perianth green;

tepals 3.5–4 mm;

anthers ± equaling filaments;

ovules (1–)2 per locule;

pedicel 0.5–1.3 cm.

purplish maroon, purple, or black, ovoid to flattened, 5–7 mm, glaucous.

purplish black, globose, 9–11 mm, not glaucous.

;

rhizomes linear or dense masses of potatolike tubers.

= 52.