Shrubs, rarely small trees, dioecious, 2-4 m tall, spinose, divaricate. Branchlets opposite or subopposite, gray-brown, terminating in a spine; young branches puberulent, glabrescent. Leaves opposite or subopposite, rarely alternate, or fascicled on short shoots; stipules persistent, linear-lanceolate, puberulent; petiole 6-10 mm, densely pubescent; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially green, suborbicular, obovate-orbicular, or ovate-orbicular, rarely orbicular-elliptic, 1-6 × 1.2-4 cm, papery or thinly papery, abaxially throughout or on veins pubescent, adaxially initially densely pubescent, glabrescent, or only veins and margin becoming sparsely pubescent, lateral veins (2 or)3 or 4 pairs, prominent abaxially, impressed adaxially, base broadly cuneate or subrounded, margin irregularly crenate-serrate, apex acute or shortly acuminate, rarely rounded-obtuse. Flowers unisexual, 4-merous, usually few-to 20-fascicled on terminal branches or in leaf axils of lower parts of long shoots, rarely 2-or 3-fascicled in leaf axils of annual branches; petals, calyx, and pedicels sparsely puberulent. Pedicels 4-8(-10) mm. Style 2-or 3-fid or cleft to half. Drupe black at maturity, globose or obovoid-globose, often slightly asymmetric, 4-6 mm in diam., with persistent calyx tube at base, with 2(or 3) stones; fruiting pedicel 5-8 mm, sparsely pubescent. Seeds black-brown, shiny, abaxially or laterally with margined furrow extending over 3/5 of length. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Oct.
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A shrub or small tree. It grows 2-4 m tall. The branches are opposite. They are grey brown and end in a spine. Young branches are hairy. The leaves are opposite and can be on short shoots. The leaves are pale green underneath. They are almost round and 1-6 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The flowers have both sexes and are in groups of up to 20 on the ends of branches. The fruit is black when ripe. It is almost round and 4-6 mm across.
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