Stout woody climber. Young shoots sparsely pubescent and often with minute medifixed hairs. Leaves elliptic, 9-19 cm long, 4-9 cm broad, acute or acuminate, pale and sparsely pubescent beneath, shiny above; petiole up to 1 cm long. Axillary and terminal racemes up to 20 cm long, erect, softly tomentose. Bract 3-4.5 mm long, ovate—lanceolate, acuminate, pubescent, deciduous; bracteoles 2, c. 3 mm long, linear lanceolate, present halfway up the pedicel; pedicel 1.5-2.5 cm long. Sepals oblong, c. 8 mm long, up to 1 cm in fruit, appressed pubescent; the calycine gland reddish brown, c. 4 mm long, present between the 2 sepals and partly adnate to the pedicel. Petals alternating with the sepals, sub-orbicular to obovate, c. 1 cm long, clawed, creamish white, the posterior one the largest and with a yellow centre; with appressed pubescent hairs to the outside, glabrous to sparsely pubescent within. Stamens unequal; filament of longest stamen l-l.2 cm long, twice as long or longer than the shorter ones, slightly dilated and connate at the base; anthers ovate. Ovary pubescent. Style 1.3-l.5 cm long, slightly curved, lower part with appressed hairs. Mericarps l-3, pubescent; wings oblong lanceolate, the 2 laterals shorter, the median one 4-6 cm long. Seeds sub-globose.

Fl. Per.: March-April.

Type: Described from India.

Distribution: A native of India and Malaya; W. China, Java, Formosa Burma, Ceylon and the sub-Himalayan tract from the Indus eastward.

A strong woody climber with showy fragrant flowers; ascends to 1000 m alt. s.m., also cultivated in the plains. The leaves are medicinal and used in rheumatism and skin diseases and have insecticidal properties.