Twining or trailing to occasionally erect perennial, to 2 m, pubescent to subglabrous; lvs ovate to triangular-ovate with deeply cordate base; ocreae very oblique, reflexed-bristly at base; racemes long-peduncled, mostly branched, 4-10 cm, the small fl-clusters remote; fls white, 1.5-2 mm; achene very glossy, black, closely invested but scarcely surpassed by the perianth, the 3 outer tep rarely narrowly winged; styles separate, divergent; 2n=20, 40. Dry woods and thickets; Nf. and Que. to n. Minn., s. to Pa. and s. Mich., and in the mts. to N.C. (Bilderdykia c.; Tiniaria c.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.