Perennial undershrub, c. 15-70 cm tall, erect to twining, pubescent. Leaves 4-7 cm x 1.8-6 cm, ovate-lanceolate or cordate, glabrous to pubescent, entire, acute to acuminate. Flowers clustered in the leaf axils. Pedicels 4-5 mm long. Calyx lobes c. 1.5 mm long, lobes oblong to lanceolate, acute. Corolla c. 4 mm long, cream to greenish, lobes hairy on the inner surface. Corona lobes 5, obtuse. Follicles 5-6 x 1-1.5 (-2) cm, gradually tapering towards the tip.

Fl. Per.: June-September.

Lectotype: Herb. Willdenow 5265 (B).

Distribution: Nepal, Western Tibet, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan westward to Greece.

A variable species; Rechinger f. (Biol. Skr. 10,3:79.1958) has discussed the variation of Vincetoxicum glaucum, which he maintains as a separate species, and its relationship to Vincetoxicum canescens.