A thin-stemmed lax-to much-branched shrub or small tree up to 7.5 m. tall, but more commonly 2–3 m.. Bark pale grey-green or mottled grey, slightly roughened.. Twigs light grey or yellowish, lenticellate.. Young shoots and petioles sparingly pubescent, soon becoming quite glabrous.. Petioles 0.5–1 cm. long; leaf-blades ovate-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 3–10.5 cm. long, 0.5–3(–5) cm. wide, obtuse, subacute or acute, cuneate, crenate-serrate, thinly chartaceous to firmly membranous, lateral nerves 6–8 pairs, commonly looped within the margin, scarcely prominent above, slightly so beneath, very sparingly pubescent above and beneath at first, soon becoming quite glabrous, dark green, usually drying blackish purple.. Stipules aculeolate, 1–1.5 mm. long, straight or hooked, pungent, slightly accrescent, yellowish.. Male inflorescences densely glomerulate, long-pedunculate, or sometimes with the flowers in 2–3 separate clusters along the axis; peduncles (3–)5–15 mm. long, glabrous; bracts triangular, 0.5 mm. long, ciliate.. Male flowers: pedicels slender, up to 5 mm. long, glabrous; buds apiculate; calyx-lobes 3, broadly ovate, 1 mm. long and wide, apiculate, glabrous, pale green; extrastaminal glands small, rounded, distinct or irregularly connate, glabrous or sparingly hirtellous; interstaminal glands numerous, erect, clavate, papillose; stamens 13–14, 7 peripheral, 6–7 central, 0.7 mm. long, filaments not broadened in the middle, purple-grey, anthers cream.. Female inflorescences fewer flowered than ♂; peduncles 0.5–1.5(–2.5) cm. long, glabrous; bracts as in ♂.. Female flowers: pedicels slender, articulate one-third up from the base, 0.5–1 cm. long, glabrous; calyx-lobes 3, broadly triangular-ovate, 1.5–2 mm. long and wide, subacute, glabrous; disc-glands 3, ovate-lanceolate, 1 mm. long, petaloid, plum-red; ovary trilobate, 1 mm. diameter, evenly adpressed pubescent; styles free, 1.5 mm. long, spreading, stigmas fimbriate-laciniate throughout, white with orange fimbriae.. Fruit tricoccous, or by abortion dicoccous, the cocci 3–4 mm. diameter, sparingly adpressed pubescent especially in the upper half, green or purplish.. Seeds 2–3 mm. diameter, shallowly foveolate-reticulate, aril orange-red.
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