[citation needed] This is a liana with woody, corky, thorny stems that climb on trees, reaching up to 10 m in length.

[4] Examples include South Africa where in Afrikaans it is called ranklemoentjie, and in Venda, gwambadzi.

[3] It is very popular among the Kikuyus of Central Kenya, where it is known as mururue, Mauritius, where it is known as patte poule [5] or properly mũrũrũe.

The fossil seeds are boat-shaped with tegmen that is composed of thin-walled cells with fine criss-crossed spiral lignifications.

[10] The plant is used medicinally by many African peoples,[11] including the Maasai, who use it for malaria,[12] cough, and influenza.