Small to large trees, 5-25 m tall; trunk 20 cm d.b.h. or more. Bark blackish gray or blackish gray-brown. Branchlets angular, slightly sericeous, becoming glabrate. Bud scales dirty yellowish sericeous. Petiole slender, 1-1.8 cm, somewhat sericeous; leaf blade glaucous abaxially when old, narrowly lanceolate, 7-17 × 1.8-3.5 cm, thinly leathery, densely golden yellow sericeous on both surfaces when young, becoming puberulent to glabrate, midrib elevated abaxially, slightly concave adaxially, lateral veins 5-10 pairs, veinlets densely foveolate on both surfaces, base cuneate, margin slightly revolute, apex usually long acuminate, occasionally obtuse. Panicles arising from base of young branchlet, 3-5 cm, with 3-6 flowers; peduncle 1.5-2.5(-4.5) cm; bracts and bracteoles sericeous. Pedicel as long as flower. Flowers pale yellow or yellowish green. Perianth lobes oblong, pubescent on both surfaces, outer ones smaller. Stamens subequal, those of 3rd series hairy at base; glands long stipitate. Staminodes villous at base. Ovary ca. 5 mm, glabrous. Fruit globose, 1.3-1.5 cm in diam., black or black-purple when mature; summit of fruiting pedicel ca. 2 mm in diam. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Sep-Nov.