Herb with slender scrambling or climbing, us. sparingly branched stems up to 2 m. long; branchlets, petioles and lvs sparingly clad in stinging hairs, sts almost lacking armature. Lvs 3-8 cm. × 5-12 mm., on petioles up to 5 mm. long; lamina linear to linear-lanceolate, dentate-serrate, acuminate, cuneate to truncate at base; teeth 1-2 mm. long, sharp, sinus acute. Staminate spikes up to 1 cm. long; per. glab. or nearly so; pistillate often reduced to glomerules. Achenes 1-1·5 mm. long, brown.

DIST.: N., S. Lowland swamps, especially among Phormium, local from lat. 40° southwards; east of divide in S. Also collected near Waikaremoana by E. P. Turner.