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A shrub or small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows to 10-12 m high. The leaves are dark green. They are large and 25 cm long by 18 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 15 cm long. The flowers are showy and have a sweet smell. The petals are bright white. The flowers are 10 cm across and are produced on older wood. The fruit is about 8 cm across and covered with slender spines. The fruit split into 5 or 6 parts when mature. There are several seeds. These are round and 6 mm across.
Leaves collected towards the ends of the branches; lamina up to 25 x 18 cm., membranous, ovate, apex acuminate, base rounded or slightly cordate, 5-nerved from the base; petiole up to 15 cm. long; stipules up to 2.5 cm. long, subulate-aristate, caducous.
Flowers up to 10 cm. in diam., scented, borne on the previous year’s branches or on older wood, appearing with the young leaves, in fascicles of 2–5; pedicels up to c. 2–5 cm. long, sparingly glandular.
Fruit a densely echinate capsule c. 8 cm. in diam. (including spines), with slender spines 1.5–2 cm. long, splitting into 5–6 recurved valves when ripe; style persistent.
Petals white, c. 10, about twice the size of the sepals, spathulate-oblong, tapering to a short basal claw, strongly veined towards the base.
Stamens very numerous with slender filaments up to 2 cm. long; anthers linear, 4 mm. long, dehiscing by apical slits.
Ovary tuberculate; placentas 5–6; style slender, c. 1 cm. long, stigma-lobes 5–6, linear, obtuse or capitate.
Sepals 2 x 1.3 cm., imbricate, very concave, glandular on exposed parts outside, oblong.
Small or medium sized tree up to c. 14 m. tall, branches glabrous or puberulous.
Seeds numerous, 6–7 mm. in diam., globose, puberulous.
Forest shrub or tree, to 30 ft. high
Flowers white.
