Cocculus hirsutus

Cocculus hirsutus is a perennial vine climbing up to 3 m high, producing stems up to 15 m long and very velvety when young. 
It is invasive in some parts of the world.

The stems of Cocculus hirsutus are thin, slender and cannot stand erect without any support. 
They are green when young then grey in colour.
They are densely pubescent to tomentose.

The leaves of Cocculus hirsutus are simple, growing in an opposite arrangement. 
They are 4 to 8 cm long and 2.5 to 6 cm wide. 
The leaves are ovate or ovate-oblong in shape, sometimes 3 to 5-lobed. 
The leaf base is cordate, the apex is obtuse with a small point. 
The leaves are densely velvety when young, becoming nearly hairless with age. 
There are 3 to 5 basal nerves. 
The petiole can be up to 2.5 cm long. 
The leaves are edible.

The flowers of Cocculus hirsutus are small and yellow-grey in colour. 
The species is dioecious. 
The male flowers are growing in axillary panicles. 
The male flowers have 6 sepals, 3 outer hairy and obovate in shape and 3 inner broadly ovate in shape. 
The petals are ovate-oblong, about 0.5 cm long. The 6 stamens are less than 1 mm, free and included. 
The female flowers are growing on axillary fascicles or racemes by 1 to 3 in number. 
They have 6 sepals, obovate and biseriate. 
They have 6 petals, oblanceolate, hairy, with 3 carpels.

The fruit of Cocculus hirsutus is a globose drupe, less than 1 cm across. 
It is a fleshy fruit, blue to dark purple in colour. 
The endocarp is annular or ribbed with a prominent dorsal crest, perforated. 
The juice of the ripe fruit yields a permanent blue-purple ink, used for dyeing purpose.

The seeds of Cocculus hirsutus are curved around the basal bodies. 
In the ripe seed, the inner epidermis of the tegmen persists. 
The seeds are less than 1 cm across and light brown in colour.