The glossy leaves are 15–45 centimeters long, long-stalked, alternate and palmate with five to twelve deep lobes with coarsely toothed segments. The leaves of some other varieties are green The stems and the spherical, spiny seed capsules also vary in pigmentation. The fruit capsules of some varieties are more showy than the flowers. 
It is native to to the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa, and India, but is widespread throughout tropical regions