High-climbing vine with tight bark, the young branches with many lenticels; pith continuous through the nodes; lvs firm, glossy on both sides, rotund to cordate-ovate, 6-12 cm, often somewhat wider, rarely slightly lobed, coarsely and irregularly serrate, sub-glabrous at maturity except for tufts of hair in the vein-axils, the basal sinus 90Рor wider, with entire margins; panicles short (2-5 cm), densely fld; fr few in a subglobose cluster, 1-2 cm, thick-skinned; 2n=40. Moist soil; Del. to Ky. and Mo., s. to Fla. and Tex.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.