Shrub to 4 m; young branches covered with stri-gose tomentum. Leaves elliptic to obovate (occasion-ally lanceolate), 14-22 by (3-)5—8(—10) cm, charta-ceous, base cuneate or rounded, apex with an apicu-lum, margin dentate (at least in most leaves) with short, crisp hairs on the midrib, principal veins, and often ± sparsely over the whole lower surface; petiole c. 10-14 mm, deeply channelled above. ?Monoecious. Inflorescences axillary, supra-axillary or ter-minal; male and female flowers in separate inflorescences. Male inflorescence a few-flowered cyme, c. 10 mm long, hispid; peduncle 2 mm long bearing minute bracts and lateral branches (pedicels) sub-tended by bracts. Female flowers solitary, borne on a short (2 mm long) bracteate peduncle (pedicel). Male flowers obovoid, c. 2 mm long, receptacle hispid on the outer surface and bearing a pair of rounded bracts (? tepals), ostiole minute, surrounded by c. 3 pairs of tepals; stamens 4, anthers broadly tri-angular, subsessile. Female receptacle hispid on the outer surface and bearing c. 2 pairs of acute ovate bracts, ostiole surrounded by 3-4 pairs of decussate rounded tepals, with large pendulous glands within the ostiole, inner surface of receptacle hispid, ovules with a blunt peg-like stigma. Pedicels becoming woody and longer in fruit (up to 15 mm); receptacle becoming woody, to 20 mm Ø, including the stout stipes. Drupes ovoid or ellipsoid, c. 15 by 10 mm.
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