Exotic-looking, vigorous climber that twines round the support. It grows 5-10 m high with 1-2 m of annual growth Young stems and leaf petioles are reddish. Trifoliate leaves with almost round leaflets, dark green on the upper side, bluish underneath. Small (5mm across) flowers in 10 cm long pendant racemes are borne in May. Round, glossy violet-mauve berries ripen in September. Dioecious. It likes fertile, moist but not boggy soil and a sheltered, well-lit but not too hot site. Vulnerable to spring frosts. Particularly useful for growing over arbours, trellises and other high garden supports.