A monoecious or sometimes dioecious shrub 1–2.5 m. tall.. Young twigs densely silvery or brownish lepidote, the scales deeply laciniate.. Older twigs dark grey or reddish brown, lenticellate, glabrescent.. Leaves sometimes subopposite; petioles 1–2.7 cm. long, silvery or coppery lepidote; blade ovate to triangular-ovate, (1–)1.5–4(–6) cm. long, (0.9–)1.3–2.3(–5) cm. wide, obtuse, subacute or rarely acute and acuminate, shallowly cordate, rounded or subcuneate, with 2 minute sessile discoid basal glands visible or not from above, entire, thinly chartaceous, lateral nerves 6–9 pairs, not or slightly impressed above, fairly prominent beneath, uniformly thinly stellate-pubescent and dark green above, silvery lepidote and sometimes brown flecked beneath, the scales deeply fimbriate, almost resembling flattened stellate hairs in places.. Stipules triangular-lanceolate, 0.75 mm. long, somewhat obscured by the scales.. Axillary buds not perulate.. Racemes terminal, up to 3 cm. long but often only 1 cm. long, the lower quarter ♀, the upper three-quarters ♂, or occasionally all ♂, axis silvery or coppery lepidote; bracts linear, 1.5 mm. long, with 2 minute basal linear lobes, stellate pubescent without, ± glabrous within.. Male flowers: pedicels up to 3.5 mm. long, fimbriate-lepidote to stellate-pubescent; sepals 5, triangular-ovate, 2 mm. long, 1.3 mm. wide, subacute, yellowish or greyish fimbriate-lepidote without, glabrous within; petals 5, oblong-oblanceolate, 2 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide, ± glabrous within and without, densely villous on the margin; disc-glands free, truncate; stamens 16, filaments 2.5 mm. long, glabrous above, pilose below, anthers 0.8 mm. long; receptacle pilose.. Female flowers: pedicels 2–4 mm. long, not elongating in fruit, stouter than in the ♂, silvery or coppery lepidote; calyx 5-lobed, the lobes pubescent within, otherwise resembling the ♂ sepals; petals 0; disc pentagonal, pubescent; ovary globose, 2 mm. diameter, densely brownish fimbriate-lepidote; styles 3, spreading, 2 mm. long, stellate-pubescent beneath, glabrous above, bipartite, the lobes oblanceolate.. Fruit subglobose-subtrilobed, 6 mm. long, 7–8 mm. diameter, septicidal, evenly adpressed fimbriate-lepidote.. Seeds ellipsoid-ovoid, 4.5 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, light pinkish brown, shiny, with a small flattened caruncle 1 mm. wide.
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