Much branched tree or erect shrub, 2-10 m high, exceptionally up to 20 m; trunk crooked; no buttresses. Crown rather dense. Branchlets greyish black, hairless, densely beset with sessile yellow glands when young. Leaves elliptic, obovate or oblong-obovate from an acute or obtuse base, atthe apex rounded, very obtuse, or sometimes slightly emarginate, shallowly to rather coarsely serrate or crenate-serrate, firmly coriaceous, hairless, when very young on both sides rather densely beset with sessile yellow glands, afterwards, especially on the upper surface, soon losing the glands which leave shallow pits, 4-14 cm by 2-7½ cm; midrib strongly prominent beneath; lateral nerves on either side of the midrib 5-12, erecto-patent, often forked, frequently ending in a short, thick marginal tooth-let, faintly prominent to slightly depressed above, rather prominent beneath; petiole firm, ½-1½ cm. Flowers (♂)(♀), very exceptionally a few ♀ flowers among the ♂ ones. ♂ : Inflorescences solitary in the leaf-axils, erect to widely patent, 4-18 cm long (peduncle included); rachis clothed with numerous yellow glands and many more or less patent short hairs, in the higher part bearing several at last widely patent catkins, rarely bearing part of the catkins on short secondary branchlets; catkins solitary in the axil of an ovate, acute, 2-3 mm long bract, sessile, ¾-3 cm long. Single flowers in the axil of a bract; floral bracts quite free from the staminal column, ovate, shortly acuminate, strong-ly vaulted, shortly hairy along the margin and on the back and studded with yellow glands, 2-2½ mm long, persistent. Stamens usually 4, very rarely 3 (see note); filaments for the greater part of their length connate into a shorter or longer column; staminal column thick, thinly patently hairy and studded with yellow glands. Anthers shortly stalked, vertical, contiguous, thick, with many sessile glands, bivalved; no rudimentary ovary. Female: Inflorescences solitary in the leaf-axils, erect or erecto-patent, not or sparingly branched, rather lax, 3-7 cm long; rachis clothed with very many sessile yellow glands and a number of patent short hairs; catkins solitary in the axil of an ovate-trian-gular acute, 1½-2 mm long bract, 5-10 mm long very dense. Flowers 5 or more, imbricate, each in the axil of a small ovate, acute hairy bract. Bracteoles at the base of the flower 2, appressed against the ovary, ovate, shortly acuminate, ciliate, hairy and glandular on the back, ¾-1 mm long. Ovary ellipsoid-ovoid, very densely studded with short rounded tubercles. Stigmas 2, sessile, spreading narrowly, ovate-triangular, acute, flat, red, ½-1¼ mm long. Berries 1 or rarely 2 per catkin, broadly ellipsoid, with many yellow glands, otherwise glabrous, black with bluish violet juice, rather acid not palatable.
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A shrub or tree. It grows 2-10 m high. The trunk is crooked. The crown is dense. The leaves are narrowly oval and 4-14 cm long by 2-8 cm wide. They are rough and have shallow teeth. Male and female flowers are separate. Male flowering stalks are 4-18 cm long. The female flowers are in the axils of leaves and occur singly. The fruit is a berry. There are 1-2 in a group.
Prefers open, sunny, stony localities, often near active craters, on ridges, and lavastreams, there often forming a pioneer-vegetation and be-coming gregarious, elsewhere mixed with other shrubs and small trees forming a rather dense jungle in which it may predominate. Fl. fr. Jan.-Dec.
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It is a tropical plant. It grows in open sunny sites between 900-3,300 m above sea level.
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