Shrubs, evergreen, erect, to 2 m tall. Spines sometimes strongly reflexed, ca. 1 cm, slender; young branches with dense rust-colored scales. Petiole rust-colored, 5-7 mm; leaf blade adaxially drying green, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 2.5-6.5 × 1.2-2.6 cm, thinly leathery or papery, abaxially densely silvery scaly, lateral veins 6 or 7 per side of midrib, slightly conspicuous on both surfaces, base cuneate, margin entire, apex acute. Flowers 1-3 in axils. Pedicel 2-3 mm; fruiting pedicel ca. 15 mm. Flowers nodding, white, outside densely silvery scaly. Calyx tube broadly tubular, ca. 5 mm; lobes broadly ovate or ovate-triangular, ca. 2.5 mm, inside sparsely whitely stellate, apex acuminate. Filaments very short; anthers oblong. Style erect, sparsely stellate-hairy. Drupe ellipsoid, ca. 1.3 × 0.7 cm, silvery scaly (var. delavayi). Fl. Oct-Nov.
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