Region: Africa, Senegal to Angola.
Habitat: tropical; forest and stream margins, savanna.
Content: alkaloids; coumarin; homologous very-long-chain 1,3-alkanediols, homologous series of C31, C33 and C35 alkanols, protoquercitol, methyl -D-fructopyranoside, palmitic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and their methyl esters.
Use: fish poison; goat medicine; perfume; insecticidal and repellent properties.
BotanyType: herb; climbing; often epiphytic.
Stem: slender, wiry; up to 5 m long; clinging to tree trunks by means of clasping roots; verrucose or warty, somewhat rubbery.
Leaves: fragrant.
Inflorescences: terminal; 1 to 3; peduncles 2.5 to 6 cm; spathe is green, mucronate, 2 to 4 cm; spadix is pale yellow to orange, constricted near the base, often exserted; stipe of about 4 mm.
Flower: ovary is unilocular and uni-ovulate;.
Fruit: fruiting spadix terminating in the male portion; berries red,; roughly spherical; 10 to 12, by 8 mm.