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Leaf blades 2.5–26.5 x 3.1-13.5 cm., narrowly to broadly elliptic, oblong-to obovate-elliptic or ± lanceolate, acute to abruptly acuminate at the apex, cuneate to ± rounded at the base, glabrous above and beneath or sparsely to densely covered with mostly ferruginous hairs, or tomentose, often thinly coriaceous; petioles 1–6.5 cm. long, pubescent or glabrous; stipules 1–2.2 x 0.8–1.5 cm., obovate-oblong to lanceolate, bilobed at the apex, the lobes 0.5–2 cm. long, acuminate, with a median and 2 lateral lines of basal hairs, glabrous to ciliate on the margins, soon deciduous, the nodes hairy above the scars.
Flowers usually ± numerous in involucrate capitate inflorescences; peduncles usually solitary but sometimes 2–3 together, 1-9( 15) cm. long, pubescent all round or with 2 lines of pubescence or glabrous; pedicels sometimes white, 2–11 mm. long in fruit; bracts free or joined together to form an entire to lobed involucre, white, green, pale blue-green or yellow-green, 0.6–3 x 0.4–1.5 cm., rounded, glabrous, pubescent or ciliate.
Fruits blue, blue-black or waxy white, 5.5–8( 10 in life) x 3.5–6(9 in life) mm., ellipsoid, grooved in the dry state, crowned or not with the persistent calyx; pyrenes straw-coloured, 4.5–7 x 3.2–5 x 1.5–2 mm., semi-ellipsoid, grooved and convex dorsally, ventrally plane or with 2 narrow grooves.
A very variable subshrub, shrub or subshrubby herb 0.2–3(4.5) m. tall, the stems branched or unbranched, glabrous or sparsely to densely covered with often ferruginous hairs.
Corolla white; tube 3.5–6.5 mm. long, funnel-shaped, cylindric below; lobes 1–3 x 0.6–1.2 mm., triangular or elliptic-lanceolate, often homed outside at the apex.
Calyx tube 1–3 mm. long, ellipsoid or obconic, limb 1–1.3 mm. long; lobes 0.5–4 mm. long, almost obsolete to attenuate-triangular, pubescent or glabrous.
Style 4.3–9 mm. long in long-styled flowers, the stigmas exserted (1)2–3 mm.; 4.5 mm. long in short-styled flowers, the stigmas 1-2.5 mm. long.
Seeds very dark red, closely conforming in size and ribbing to the pyrenes but not ruminate and with a shallow V-shaped ventral groove.
Anthers just included or exserted in long-styled flowers; filaments exserted (0)1–2 mm. in short-styled flowers.
A shrub. It grows 2 m tall.
