Trees, crown truncate; 3 m tall, bark gray, armed with stinging hairs, bulbous at base, lenticellate, leaf scars conspicuous, prominent, otherwise smooth; second year branchlets, abaxial surface of stipules, petioles, leaf blade, and inflorescences armed with stinging hairs. Leaves crowded at apex of stem and branches; Stipules caducous, broadly triangular, ca. 1 cm, leathery, densely puberulent abaxially; petiole 4-12 cm, pubescent; leaf blade ovate to ovate or obovate-oblong, to 55 × 27 cm, leathery, penniveined, lateral veins 7-12 each side, abaxial surface pubescent or sometimes subglabrous, base obtuse, rounded, slightly cordate to subpeltate, margin entire, rarely dentate or crenate, apex acute, cuspidate, or acuminate; cystoliths minutely punctiform, conspicuous adaxially. Male inflorescences cymose paniculate, branches and flowers densely armed with stinging hairs; female inflorescences paniculate, more than 10 cm, ultimate branching angle more than 100 degrees, branchlets reddish green, densely armed with poisonous, stinging hairs, bracts linear, larger ones with midvein. Male flowers: perianth lobes 4(or 5). Female flowers flabellately arranged but often not in 1 plane; sessile, perianth lobes 4, connate at base, unequal, 2 lateral lobes much wider than medial 2, enclosing ovary, ovate, ca. 0.7 mm, sparsely puberulent and armed with short stinging hairs; stigma ligulate. Achene subglobose, oblique, compressed, ca. 2 mm in diam., inconspicuously verrucose; persistent perianth forming a minute cupule at base. Fr. Apr-Jul.
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