Dioecious aromatic shrubs or small trees to 10 m., often branching from the base, the ultimate branchlets terete to quadrangular, gray-tomentose, the hairs to 0.5 mm. long. Leaves opposite, membranaceous to subpergameneous, narrowly el-liptic to obovate, apically acute to acuminate, basally cuneate to rounded, coarsely serrate to almost entire, densely gray stellate-tomentose below, densely to. sparsely so above, the hairs to 0.8 mm. long; blades (10-) 15-40 cm. long, (6-)8-16 cm. broad, with 10-16 pairs of lateral veins, the canaliculate petioles 1-6 cm. long. Staminate inflorescence of 5-to 15-flowered subsessile axillary cymes, often cauli-florous, gray to yellow stellate-pubescent throughout; peduncles, 1-6 mm. long; pedi-cels 2-10 mm. long; tepals connate, forming an undulate subentire annulus; velum conical, 4-5 mm. in diameter, the apical pore 1.0-1.5 mm. in diameter; stamens (8-) 12-30, the outermost filaments dilated, ovate to orbicular, ca. 1 mm. long, the valvate anthers minute, introrse, usually slightly exserted. Carpellate inflorescences similar to the staminate but the cymes usually sessile, the 3-15 pedicels 2-10 mm. long; tepals connate forming an undulate annulus, the velum ultimately con-cave, the many separate styles scarcely exserted through the orifice. Aggregate fruits ecallose, globose, capped by the persistent annulus, yellowish-green, drying black, 10-15 mm. in diameter, bursting irregularly exposing the pinkish interior and the several tuberculate seeds.
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