Dalechampia indica Wight, Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 5: t. 1882. 1852; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 467. 1888.

Twinning climbers, up to 4 m long, finely pubescent with stinging hairs except on upper surface of leaves. Leaves 3-foliolate, chartaceous, glabrous; leaflets sessile or shortly petiolulate, acute to rounded at base, serrate along margins, short-acuminate at apex; middle leaflet ellipticovate to obovate or ovate-lanceolate, 5 - 10 x 2.5 - 4 cm; lateral leaflets smaller, subsessile, oblique with outer bases enlarged, rounded and sometimes lobulate; petioles 1.2 - 8 cm long; stipules and stipels lanceolate, acuminate, ca 3 mm long. Flowers: surrounded by fleshy scales formed out of deformed flowers. Male flowers: sepals 4 (or 5), lanceolate, ca 4 mm long, reflexed, folded, entire; stamens more than 20; filaments ca 0.8 mm long; anthers ca 1 mm long. Female flowers: ca 3 mm across; bracteoles with knob-like glands along margin; sepals 8 - 12, linearlanceolate, often with pinnately laciniate lobes, ca 5 mm long, ciliate with stalked glands along margins; ovary globose, ca 3 mm across, pubescent; style up to 1.5 mm long; stigma somewhat cupular. Fruits depressed-subglobose, ca 8 mm in diam.; fruiting calyx 6 - 8 mm long, glandular hairy; seeds globose, 3 - 4 mm in diam., mottled dark grey or black.

Fl. & Fr. Sept. - Dec.

Distrib. India: Dry hills along slopes up to 600 m altitude. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lanka.