Tree 6-15 m tall, less frequently treelet or shrub; young branches dense, somewhat appressed, tomentose, villous or puberulous, ferrugineous to pale yellow fading to grey, glabrescent; bark red-brown to grey-brown; lenticels absent or present, small. Leaves spirally arranged, rarely decussate; petioles generally flat, 0.7-10 cm x 1-2 mm at midlength (broadening to 3 mm at base), sericeous, closely appressed, short to long tomentose, villous or puberulous, glabrescent; leaf blade subcoriaceous to coriaceous, closely appressed, long sericeous-pilose above, shorter and less sericeous-pilose beneath, glabrescent both sides except densely persistent hairs on midvein above, ferrugineous to golden or pale yellow fading to grey, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, narrow obovate, oblanceolate, 5-29.5 x 2-9 cm, base symmetrical, acute, at times decurrent, rarely obtuse, apex acute to obtuse, often acuminate, acumen to 15 mm long, margin sometimes slightly revolute; venation not conspicuous, raised above, brochidodromous from lowermost secondary vein, rarely eucamptodromous at base, midvein slightly channelled above, rarely slightly raised, secondary veins 7-16 pairs, remaining straight and parallel almost to leaf margin before ascending steeply, sometimes bifurcating between midvein and marginal vein. Inflorescence unbranched, 5-14 cm x 0.5-2 mm, or branched, 5-25 cm x 1.5-3.5 mm (elongating up to 33 cm after flowering); lateral inflorescences 1-6, spirally arranged, 5-19 cm x 0.5-1.5 mm, yellow-brown to ferrugineous-tomentose, rarely sparsely villous; common bracts (0.3-)1-1.5 mm long, tomentose to pilose; pedicels 4-13 mm long, elongating to 15 mm after flowering, 0.2-0.5 mm broad, short-tomentose to pilose, rarely villous, ferrugineous or yellow-brown. Flowers 3-6.5 mm long; tepals closely appressed, sparsely to densely short sericeous, yellow-brown, rarely ferrugineous; free part of filaments 1.2-3 mm long, adnate 1-2 mm from base of tepals, anthers narrowly oblong to elliptic, 1-1.5 x ca. 0.5 mm; hypogynous gland to 0.5-1.5 mm long, deeply lobed from 1/3 down; ovary hairs reaching 1-2 mm from base, yellow-orange to orange; style 0.2-0.3 mm broad at midlength, clavate, style apex slightly drawn-out, truncate at very tip with small depression centrally. Fruit pedicel 7-13 x 1-2 mm. Fruit resembling a follicle but indehiscent, fusiform but highly variable in shape, 2.6-6.7 x 1.2-3.1 x 0.8-1.7 cm, smooth to irregularly corrugate, ferrugineous rufous or brown, velutinous when young, glabrescent; pericarp (1-)1.5-3 mm thick, outer and mid mesocarp 1-2.5 mm thick, not clearly demarcated, inner mesocarp very thin; seed fleshy, laterally compressed.