Perennial climber, densely to sparsely hairy. Leaves alternate, simple, lamina more or less broadly ovate, base rounded, truncate or cordate, apex more or less acuminate, sometimes very obtuse, mucronate, c. 4.5–11 × 4.5–12 cm, hairy on both surfaces, margin distinctly ciliate; palmately 5–7-veined, chartaceous. Petiole 2–9 cm, inserted 1–18 mm from basal margin of lamina. Inflorescences with uniformly unisexual flowers. Male inflorescence subcorymbose or cyme, 2–4 cm long, pubescent, solitary or few within a fascicle; male flower green to yellowish, pedicels 1–2 mm long; sepals 4, obovate, 1.25–1.5 mm long, pilose outside; corolla cup-shaped, c. 0.5 mm long, puberulous outside; anthers fused, c. 0.75 mm long. Female inflorescence thyrsoid, narrow, up to 18 cm long, composed of fascicles of pseudo-racemes, each fascicle in the axil of a more or less suborbicular bract, up to 1.5 cm long, long- or short-haired, female flowers minute, pedicels 1–1.5 mm long; sepal 1, broadly obovate, 1.5 mm long; petal 1, broadly cuneate-obovate, 0.75 mm long; ovary up to 0.5 × 0.5 mm, pilose; style glabrous; stigma divaricately 3-lobed. Fruit a drupe, orange or red, pubescent, 5 mm long, dorsally bearing 2 rows of 9–11 very prominent, transverse ridges.

Common weed in crop fields, marginal land, and other dry, sunny places. Plants are often collected from the wild, but can be propagated through seed sowing or suckers; vertical support for vines is needed for clean leaf harvesting.
Leaves are harvested year-round; they are crushed and filtered to obtain leaf sap, which is mixed with sugar and left undisturbed for a few hours to solidify. The resulting gel-like product is consumed as a popular sweet during hot summers for its antipyretic properties.