Liana; young branches solid, indumentum abundant to dense villous or velutinous (less frequently pilose or tomentose), red-brown to light red-brown (less frequently yellow). Leaf blades 4—11 (--15) x 2—7 (--9.5) cm, elliptic, less frequently wide-elliptic, ovate or oblanceolate, membranaceous, adaxial surface drying dark green, or less frequently, dark red-brown, black-green, brown-green (rarely green), abaxial surface drying yellow-green (rarely green and same color as adaxial surface), lateral veins (6) 7 or 8 (9) pairs, at 45--60º angle to midrib, adaxial surface glabrous to less frequently abundant pubescent, the trichomes 0.2--1 mm, straight to slightly curved, most frequently all ascending, sometimes spreading in all directions or torulose, yellow-white to red-brown, abaxial surface usually abundant to dense pubescent, rarely nearly glabrous, trichomes 0.2—1 mm, torulose or straight to slightly curving and spreading in all directions overall or sometimes trichomes of venation straight to slightly curving and mostly ascending, white-yellow to red-brown, base subcordate, rounded or cordate, frequently then short decurrent, margin serrulate to nearly entire, crenate or serrate, 1--4 teeth/cm, tooth glands pustular to cupular, apex acuminate or acute to obtuse and then often cuspidate; stipules 2-lobed, caducous, usually present only at the base of unexpanded leaves or very young leaves, or on juvenile plants, upper lobe (1.5--) 2.5—7 (--8) x 0.4—2 (--3) mm, spreading upward to downward (rarely erect), lanceolate, sometimes asymmetrically so, acuminate (rarely acute), lower lobe (0.5--) 1—3.5 (--4) x 0.25—1.25 mm, curving downward, less frequently spreading, ovate to lanceolate, acute to acuminate (rarely oblong and acute or subulate foot); petioles (3--) 4—15 (--22) mm. Inflorescence with longest racemiform part (7--) 11—32 (--42) cm, indumentum of rachis villous, velutinous or tomentose, yellow-white to red-brown, bract of cyme (1--) 1.5--3 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, cyme appearing sessile. Mature flowers appearing sessile to pedicels 1.5 (--2.5) mm, hypanthium dense to abundant sericeous to tomentose, the trichomes yellow-white or light red-brown. Sepals (0.5--) 0.65—1 (--1.2) mm, externally dense to abundant sericeous to tomentose, the trichomes yellow-white to light red-brown. Petals (0.5--) 0.6—0.9 (--1) mm; stamens with filaments (0.35--) 0.5—0.75 (--0.8) mm, narrowly triangular to less frequently triangular, anthers 0.15—0.25 (--0.3) mm; disc excluding lobes (0.9--) 1—1.5 (--1.8) mm diam., annulus dense to sparse pilose (rarely with only one or two trichomes), disc otherwise glabrous, disc lobes (0.25--) 0.3--0.5 (--0.6) mm, often lanceolate-acuminate to point or tapering, less frequently more or less square and to 0.4 mm at apex, apically entire or irregularly lobed, (1/3--) 2/5—3/5 (--2/3) length of sepals; style pubescent. Young fruits indumentum sparse to scattered (rarely abundant), pilose, yellow-white to red-brown; mature mericarp out-line dumb-bell shaped, the wings more or less attaching to the sides of fruit body only, externally wings drying brown-yellow, yellow-brown or red-brown, fruit body usually drying darker, brown, red-brown or black, indumentum glabrous to scattered on fruit body and sometimes wings with some trichomes 0.1—0.3 mm, yellow-white to red-brown, internally drying yellow-white or off-white on wings, slightly to moderately contrasting with fruit body pale brown, pale red-brown, or pale gray-brown, fruit body (2.5--) 3--4 mm high, wings (4--) 5—8 (--9) mm high, distance between highest points of two wings (5--) 6—10 (--13) mm, width of mericarp (7--) 9--17 mm, 3—4 (--5) times height of fruit body, width of fruit body (2--) 2.5—3.5 (--4) mm, 1/6—1/4 (--1/3) width of mericarp. Seeds (1.8--) 2.2—2.75 x 1.4—2.3 mm, green-brown to brown.

Common, evergreen forest, dry forest, cloud forest, elfin forest, often disturbed, all zones of country; 0—1000 (--1300) m; fl oct-feb (abr), fr dic-jun; Araquistain 1835, Stevens 18766; Mexico to Argentina, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago.