A deciduous climber growing 10 to 16 ft high; young shoots grooved or angled; stems armed with decurved spines 1⁄6 in. long. Leaves ovate or narrowly oval, mostly heart-shaped at the base and pointed at the apex, 11⁄2 to 31⁄2 in. long, 3⁄4 to 13⁄4 in. wide, glaucous beneath, three- or five-nerved; stalk 1⁄12 to 1⁄5 in. long. Flowers greenish yellow, in an umbel terminating a very slender main flower-stalk up to 11⁄2 in. long; each flower on a stalk 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 in. long. Fruits blue-black, 1⁄4 in. or rather more wide.
Native of Central and Western China; introduced by Wilson about 1908. It is distinct on account of the comparatively large, semi-circular stipules up to 1⁄5 in. long, combined with the black fruit, the heart-shaped base of the leaves and their glaucous under-surface.
var. concolor Norton – Leaves green on both sides and, at least in the type-specimens, larger and with longer petioles. Introduced by Wilson in 1907.