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Leaf blades 3–14 × 2–8.5 cm, elliptic-ovate, gradually acuminate at the apex, glandular crenate-serrate on the margins, the glands conoidal on the teeth, and discoid (when present) in the sinuses, cuneate to rounded or truncate at the base, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, usually penninerved (palminerved in subsp. mossambicensis) with 7–17 pairs of usually conspicuous pale lateral slightly prominent nerves, densely or evenly, rarely sparingly, stellate-pubescent when young, glabrescent on upper surface and sometimes beneath, or remaining softly whitish stellate-pilose beneath, deep dull green to pale yellowish-green on upper surface, turning red prior to falling, often drying blackish (greenish-brown in subsp. mossambicensis).Racemes (3)6–20 cm long, terminal on the main axis or terminating lateral shoots, male, female or androgynous; axes usually densely stellate-pubescent; bracts 3–5 mm long, linear-lanceolate, evenly stellate-pubescent to subglabrous, the male bracts several-flowered, the androgynous bracts few-flowered, the female bracts 1-flowered, soon falling.
Female flowers: pedicels 1–2 mm long, scarcely extending in fruit, stout, densely fulvous stellate-tomentose; sepals 5, 1.5–4 × 0.75–1 mm, slightly accrescent in fruit, lanceolate, otherwise as in male flowers; petals 0–5, 1–2 mm long, linear to filiform, villous on the margin, otherwise glabrous; disk shallowly 5-lobed, pubescent; ovary 2 mm in diameter, subglobose, densely stellate-tomentose; styles 3, 4 mm long, deeply 2-partite with filiform segments, subpersistent, brownish.
Male flowers: pedicels 3–5 mm long; sepals 5, 2–3 × 1–1.5 mm, oblong-lanceolate, sparingly stellate-pubescent without, glabrous within, puberulous at apex, green; petals 5, 2–3 × 1–1.5 mm, elliptic, glabrous without, villous within, creamy-yellow in colour; disk glands 5, free, truncate; stamens 15–20, filaments 3 mm long, glabrous, yellow-green, anthers 0.75 mm long; receptacle pilose.
Fruits 9–14 × 9–12 mm, trilobate-subglobose or obovoid, scurfily stellate-pubescent, yellowish to buff; endocarp thinly crustaceous, breaking up irregularly (frangent).Seeds 8 × 6 × 3.5 mm, compressed ovoid-trigonous, adaxially light brown, abaxially buff and brown-flecked or mottled, dull, ecarunculate.
A shrub, or tree up to 15 m tall, often several-stemmed and with a dense spreading crown, monoecious or dioecious.
Petioles 1.5–6 cm long, with 2 stipitate or± sessile orange discoid glands at the apex.
Stipules 6–7 mm long, linear to linear-lanceolate, sparingly pubescent, soon falling.
A tree. The leaves are broadly oval. The flowers are in groups 6-18 cm long.
Twigs grey-green pubescent with dark grey to blackish stellate hairs.
Bark smooth, grey-and white-blotched.
Bole clean, up to 30 cm in diameter.
Infructescences pendent.
Branches drooping.
Flowers scented.
