M. Thulin (1990) Vitaceae. Flora of Somalia 2: 156-168
Plants woody climber, up to 10 m log; young stems glabrous or pubescent, terete; old stems 4-angled or winged, the wings often becoming corky and up to 2.5 cmwide. Leaves thick and fleshy, glaucous, usually sparsely pubescent; petioles 2-40 mm long; blades broadly ovate to suborbicular, 2-13 cm long and wide, bases more or less cordate,tips rounded with crenate or dentate margins. Flowers produced with the leaves, in 2.5-25 cm long inflorescences; peduncles 1-7 mm long, elongating to 15 mm in fruit. Calyces about 1 mm long, glabrous; petals green, yellowish or whitish, 3-3.5 mm long, glabrous. Fruits ellipsoid, 11-15 mm long, 7-13 mm wide, reddish; seeds ellipsoid, compressed, 8-10 mm long, 4-6 mm wide, with a dorsal ridge but otherwise smooth.
Cissus rotundifolia grows in bushland, woodland, scrub, and rivarine forest at 100-1500 m in regions N1 and S1-3 of the Flora of Somalia, Djibouti, eritrea, Ethiopia, southwards to South Africa.
The berries are edible and the leaves can be cooked and eaten.
Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution.