Flora of North America species comparison

perennial, climbing, branching, terete, to 7+ m × 9 mm, woody, glabrous, with prickles proximally, prickles usually absent distally;

prickles blackish, unequal, 3–10+ mm, bristly, flexible.

annual, climbing, branched, 2–3 m, herbaceous, glabrous;

prickles absent.

± persistent in southern part of range, deciduous in north;

petiole 1–2 cm;

blade green, drying to light olive-gray, ovate-lanceolate, ovate, or sometimes pandurate, prominently reticulate, thin, 5–13 × 3–10 cm, not glaucous, glabrous (to prickly on major veins abaxially), base rounded to cordate, margins entire apically, minutely serrulate basally, thin, flat, not banded, not lobed, apex pointed.

evenly distributed, proximalmost reduced to bracts;

petiole shorter than blade;

tendrils numerous, long, functional;

blade dark green, triangular, ovate, or slightly hastate, 2.5–8.5 × 4–7.5 cm, membranous, glabrous and glaucous abaxially, base truncate, cordate, or hastate, lobes rounded;

margins entire;

apex cuspidate.

many, axillary to leaves, to 25-flowered, open to dense, spherical;

peduncle often drooping, 1.5–6.5 cm.

axillary to leaves, staminate to 20-flowered, pistillate few–40-flowered, moderately dense, subspherical;

peduncle of staminate umbel ± equaling subtending leaf, pistillate to 13.5 cm.

perianth green to bronze;

tepals 4–5 mm;

anthers ± equaling to shorter than filaments;

ovule 1 per locule;

pedicel 0.4–1.2 cm.

perianth light green;

tepals 1.5–2 mm;

anthers slightly shorter than to equaling filaments;

ovules (1–)2 per locule;

pedicel thin, ca. 1.5 cm.

black, globose, 6–10 mm, not glaucous.

blue, ovoid, 6–8 mm.

;

rhizomes knotty, short.