Fibraurea tinctoria is one of the Menispermaceae. It is a huge, woody, dioecious, entirely smooth climber which can reach up to 40 m long and measures up to 5 cm in stem diameter. The young shoot tips are thread-like. The bark of the older stems is grayish-buff, coarsely and irregularly striate.

The leaves are arranged spirally, thinly coriaceous, simple and entire, exstipulate, elliptic to ovate, measuring 10-20(-28) cm x (3.5-) 5-14 cm, rounded, sometimes subpeltate at the base, acuminate at the apex and 3(-5)-nerved. The petiole is (2-) 4-13 cm long and usually blackish when drying, at least at the swollen base.

The flowers are in axillary or ramiflorous lax panicles, with 6 whitish or yellowish inner sepals minute outer ones while the petals are lacking. The male flowers are sweetly scented, with 6 stamens which have very thick columnar filaments. The female flowers are with 3 ellipsoidal carpels and 6 rudimentary stamens.

The fruit is composed of up to 3 yellow or orange drupes borne on a small knob-like carpophore.

The root is spongy and flexible.

Fibraurea tinctoria is usually found in lowland forests, primary as well as secondary or disturbed forests, up to 1200 m altitude. It is locally common, for example, in dry evergreen forests in Thailand, and in peat swamp forests in Sarawak. This species also occurs in bamboo forests and scrubby vegetations, along river banks and in logged forest. It grows in different soils like sandy loam, clayey soil, ultrabasic soil, sandstone and stony blackish soil.

Fibraurea tinctoria is widespread from north-eastern India and the Nicobar Islands, through Burma (Tenasserim), Thailand and Indo-China (Vietnam), east to southern China, and south to western and central Malaysia. It is found in Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah), Brunei, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, north-eastern Sulawesi) and the Philippines (Dinagat Island, north of Mindanao).