Shrubs or trees, dioecious, to 6 m tall, spinose. Branchlets opposite or subopposite; young branches densely hirsute; older branches virgate, shiny, red-brown or purple-red, smooth, glabrous, terminating in a spine. Leaves opposite or subopposite, or fascicled on short shoots; stipules lanceolate, often persistent; petiole 4-10(-15) mm, adaxially canaliculate and puberulent or densely hirsute; leaf blade vivid greenish, turning red when dry, obovate-lanceolate, obovate-elliptic, or elliptic, 2.5-8 × 1.5-3 cm, papery or thinly papery, abaxially pilose on veins or only in vein axils, or subglabrous or densely hirsute, adaxially pilose or subglabrous or pilose only on veins, lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs, reticulate veins conspicuous, base cuneate, margin crenate-serrulate, apex acuminate or shortly acuminate, rarely acute. Flowers unisexual, 4-merous. Petals present, 3-4 mm, sparsely puberulent or glabrous. Female flowers few, fascicled on short shoots, with rudimentary stamens; style 2-cleft. Drupe bluish black, subglobose, with persistent calyx tube at base, 4-5 mm in diam., with 2 stones; fruiting pedicel 2-5 mm. Seeds red-brown, abaxially with margined furrow extending over 2/3-3/4 of length. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Oct.
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A shrub or small tree. It has many branches. The branches usually end in a sharp thorn. The leaves are almost opposite and 2-10 cm long by 1-6 cm wide. They are narrowly sword shaped. There can be teeth along the edge. The flowers are of one sex and are in the axils of leaves. The flowers are 4-5 mm long. The fruit are oval and 7 mm long. They have 2-4 seeds. The seeds are shiny and have a groove on the back. They are dark brown and 5 mm long by 2 mm wide.
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