An undershrub (35-)60 cm to a treelet 5 m tall. Twigs brownish yellow, furrowed when young, pithy, laxly to densely set with a greyish to fulvous indumentum puberulous to velvety. Terminal bud not completely enveloped by the stipules, the latter (3-)6-11(-13) mm long, rather wide at the base, brown and striate, more or less hairy, leaving inconspicuous scars. Leaves spirally arranged. Petiole (3-)8-25(-32) mm, hairy like the twig. Blade thin in texture, to 11-34 by 4-9 ½ (-11) cm, widest above the middle, sometimes about, index (2.2-)2.7-3.4(-3.8); base tapering, top acuminate; midrib and veins distinct, flat above, prominent beneath, yellowish brown, no domatia; primary veins fairly regular and parallel towards the margin at distances of c. 1(-2) cm, nearly always without smaller intermediate veins; secondary venation scalariform, often crossing the primary veins; reticulation distinct beneath; margins dentate to sometimes entire; surfaces fairly dull, paler beneath, some hairs on the midrib and major veins beneath often remaining, otherwise glabrous, brown-green in the dried state (yellowish when Schweinfurthed). Inflorescences originally subtended by a few stipule-like hypophylls in the axils of the (lst-)2nd-6th leaves of twigs, or sometimes the flowering part of a twig leafless, rarely flowering on an older branchlet, consisting of a more or less contracted (sub)sessile panicle with unequal branches, the main axis to 1½ (exceptionally to 7) cm long; flowers few-20 (rarely more spirally arranged; bracts and bracteoles c. 1 mm; all pedicels jointed at ¼-1 mm above their insertion, the distal part 3-10(-15) mm, thickened towards the top, puberulous. Buds and often flowers ovoid, but sometimes the outer sepals spreading in the dried state; calyx somewhat decurrent into the pedicel; petals converging, corolla with a narrow opening at the top. Sepals 2-4(-5) by 1-5(-6) mm, more or less fleshy, variously hairy, exceptionally the margins of the outer sepals recurved. Petals (2-)3-6(-8) mm long, sometimes S-shaped or with recurved top, mostly thin but sometimes fleshy. Androecium glabrous but exceptionally a few hairs at the base of the anthers or also the filaments hairy; filamental tube 0.1-0.3 part of the length of the stamens, the filaments 0.1-0.3(-0.5) part, the anthers 0.4-0.7 part; dorsal and ventral appendages always well developed. Ovary mostly hairy, sometimes glabrous, style glabrous, rarely hairy; ovules 6(-7). Calyx enlarging with the fruit, eventually leathery, funnel-shaped, 8-12 mm ø, on a firm pedicel, about 3-5 per inflorescence. Fruit ovoid, 10-15 mm long, glabrous, turbinately splitting, the valves thin but firm; seed one, ellipsoid to ovoid, c. 8-11 mm long, glossy even light brown.
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