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Small understorey evergreen tree or shrub up to 5 m high. Branches terete, stout, pale green with dark transverse scars of the caducous stipules. Leaves alternate, coriaceous, glaucous, paler below, elliptic, usually about 8-16 cm long and 4-8 cm broad, margin serrate to spinoso-dentate; petiole 1-2 cm, stout. Flowers very small, arranged in compound, terminal or axillary, elongated panicles which are shorter than the leaves, bearing small clusters of brown velvet buds, bracts deciduous, small; pedicels short. Sepals broadly ovate, 2-3 mm long, obtuse, finely ribbed fan-wise with a membranous margin, persistent. Petals erect, narrowly elliptic, about 5 mm long, yellow, deciduous. Stamens on very short filaments, fused at the base; apical connective-appendage ovate-acuminate, petaloid; thecal appendage small to minute. Ovary globose, glabrous, style erect, terete, exserted, stigma apical, minute. Capsule globose, obtusely 3-lobed, about 1-2 cm in diam., hard, brown, verrucose; seeds angled, about 6 mm long, yellowish.
Leaves petiolate; lamina (7.5) 12–22 x 3–8.5 cm., narrowly oblong-elliptic to obovate, acute or acuminate at the apex, cuneate to rounded at the base, coarsely spinose-serrate with spines 0.5–3 mm. long, coriaceous, bright-or bluish-green above, pale green below, glabrous or rarely pubescent along the main veins, with venation prominent on both surfaces; petiole 5–25 (30) mm. long, channelled above, glabrous or minutely pubescent; stipules c. 5–10 mm. long, subulate, glabrous (? or minutely pubescent), soon caducous.
Stamen-tube without free margin, glabrous; anthers on short filaments (? or almost sessile), ovoid, glabrous with an ovate, obtuse, decurrent connective-appendage, and one entire or emarginate thecal appendage.
Inflorescence with ± numerous flowers, narrowly paniculate, compound, terminal; peduncle stout, flattened or ± quadrangular, longitudinally ribbed, minutely pubescent or rarely glabrous.
Petals c. 5 mm. long, c. 2 x the sepals, cream-white or yellow, thick, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, ± recurved above, glabrous.
Branches terete, longitudinally wrinkled (at least when dry), glabrous or rarely minutely pubescent in the upper part.
Capsule 3-lobed, 10–20 mm. long, purplish to brown, glabrous, rugose, coriaceous, (2) 3-seeded.
Flowers becoming spreading or ± erect, shortly pedicellate, with pedicels minutely pubescent.
Sepals 2–3 mm. long, ovate-elliptic, obtuse, ribbed fanwise, glabrous or minutely pubescent.
Ovary ± globose, glabrous; style c. 11/2 times as long as the ovary.
Bracts triangular, minutely pubescent or rarely glabrous, deciduous.
Shrub or small tree, 0.3–4 (5) m. high, much branched, evergreen.
A shrub or small tree. It grows 1-5 m tall.
Flower-buds ovoid, pendulous.
Seeds c. 7 mm. long.
