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Leaves usually clustered near the apices of the branches, paired, or occasionally ternate or quadrate, glabrous; blades 8–30 × 1.3–7.5 cm, linear to narrowly elongate-oblong or oblanceolate, rounded or sometimes obtuse at the apex, obtuse to attenuate at the base; midrib straw-coloured, prominent beneath; lateral nerves in 8–11 main pairs; domatia absent; bacterial nodules dot-like to linear, few to many or absent (in West African specimens); petiole short, up to 1.5 cm long; stipule limbs truncate, 2–6 mm long, shortly acuminate, glabrous outside.
A shrub or small tree. It grows 3-6 m tall. The leaves are usually clustered near the ends of branches. The leaves are 30 cm long by 8 cm wide. They are sword shaped. There are 8-11 pairs of side veins. The flowers are crowded and 8-17 cm across. The fruit is shiny and black and 6-8 mm across. The seeds are greyish brown and about 5 mm wide.
Inflorescences corymbose, crowded, (3)7.5–17 cm across (excluding corollas); peduncles 0–7 mm long; primary inflorescence branches 0.6–3.3 cm long, glabrous; second-to fourth-order branches present; pedicels 1.8–7 mm long, glabrous; bracts 5–8 mm long, usually slightly corky, caducous; bracteoles ± membranous.
Shrub or small tree 1–8 m tall; young branches glabrous, stout, angled; older branches covered with thin greyish, buff or rarely blackish cracking bark.
Corolla tube 0.8–1.5 cm long, 1.5–2 mm wide at the top, glabrous outside, with few hairs within; lobes 4–6 × 1.5–2.5 mm, oblong, obtuse to rounded.
Calyx glabrous; tube 1–1.5 mm long; limb-tube 1–1.75(2) mm long, ± twice as broad as the tube, truncate or undulate to slightly dentate.
Fruit black, shiny, 6–8 mm in diameter; pedicels slightly accrescent; calyx limb persistent.
Inflorescence-supporting branches 0.6–15.5 cm long, leafless but with 1–2 nodes, stout.
Seeds greyish-brown, 5–5.5 mm wide, slightly rugulose on convex face.
A glabrous shrub with stout squarish branchlets covered
Pale corky bark which splits and falls off
Flowers greenish-white
Leaves often in threes
Fruits black
