A monoecious woody herb or shrub up to 1.5 m. in height, with branches whorled at the bases of the inflorescences.. Young shoots evenly stellate-lepidote, older ones more sparingly so, greenish with purplish ribs.. Leaves alternate, subopposite or whorled.. Petiole 0.5–1 cm. long, densely to evenly stellate-lepidote; leaf-blade lanceolate, 3–5 cm. long, 1–1.5 cm. wide, acute, rounded-cuneate, with 2 sessile discoid basal glands on the midrib beneath, crenate-serrate, membranaceous, penninerved, glabrous above, sparingly stellate-lepidote beneath, dark green.. Stipules subulate-filiform, 0.5 mm. long, glabrous.. Racemes terminal, up to 12 cm. long, the lower quarter–half ♀, the upper half–three-quarters ♂; axis sparingly stellate-lepidote to subglabrous; bracts triangular, 1 mm. long, ciliate.. Male flowers: pedicels 1–1.5 mm. long, glabrous; buds globose, glabrous but with an apical tuft of hairs; calyx 5-lobed, the lobes elliptic-ovate, 1.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, subacute, greenish; petals 5, oblong, recurved, 2 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide, obtuse, glabrous except for tufts of hairs on the margins towards the base, white; disc-glands free, compressed-subglobose, apiculate; stamens 13–16, filaments 2 mm. long, glabrous, anthers 0.3 mm. long; receptacle glabrous.. Female flowers ± sessile; calyx-lobes 5, triangular-ovate, 1 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, subacute, not accrescent, subglabrous; petals 0; disc annular; ovary ellipsoid-subtrilobate, 1.5 mm. long, 1 mm. diameter, densely stellate-lepidote; styles 3, ± free, 1.5 mm. long, spreading, glabrous, bifid to about half way, the lobes filiform.. Fruit ellipsoid-trigonous, 5–6 mm. long, 4 mm. wide, septicidal, sparingly stellate-lepidote.. Seeds compressed-ellipsoid, 4 mm. long, 2 mm. wide, grey, finely rugulose, slightly shiny, with a small bilobate caruncle.
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