Very prickly herb or shrub; stem tomentose; leaves ovate-elliptie, obtuse at apex, sinuately lobed, stellate pubescent, prickly on veins; peduncles usually extra-axillary; flowers often paired, peduncles one bearing a perfect female flower and other a short raceme of male flowers; calyx stellate hairy, teeth linear, elliptic or triangular; corolla blue, rotate, shortly lobed, stellate hairy outside; stamens 5, attached at the throat of corolla, filaments very short; hairy, anthers yellow, dehiscing by apical pore; ovary 2-celled, ovules many, globose, style stellate hairy or glabrescent, stigma globose; berry ovoid to globose, up to 2.5 cm in diam. green with white dots at first, yellow when ripe.