Herbs annual or short-lived perennial, glabrescent or sparingly pubescent. Stems erect, often angular; branchlets pubescent, glabrescent. Petiole 4-7 mm; leaf blade broadly ovate, rhomboid, or rounded, often broad, 2-10(-12) × 2-6 (-7) cm, glabrescent or pubescent, base cuneate, decurrent, margin entire, sinuate, or sparingly dentate, apex acute. Inflorescences extra-axillary, subumbellate; peduncle unbranched, 1-2.5 cm. Pedicel 5-10 mm, pubescent. Calyx cup-shaped, ca. 2 mm in diam., puberulent abaxially; lobes deltate-ovate, ca. 0.5 mm, ciliate. Corolla white, ca. 1 cm in diam.; lobes ovate, 2.5-5 mm, pubescent abaxially. Filaments short; anthers oblong, 2-4 mm. Style ca. 3 mm, pilose. Fruiting pedicel deflexed; fruiting calyx reflexed. Berry purplish black, somewhat shiny, globose, 5-10 mm in diam. Seeds discoid, 0.8-1 mm in diam. Fl. and fr. throughout the year.
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A bushy plant. It grows 60 cm high and spreads 45 cm wide. It grows each year from seed. The leaves are broadly oval. The flowers are small and white. The fruit are black berries. They are 18 mm wide. The fruit are purplish-black.
A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in warm humid forest. Seed germinate best at 15-30°C and growth is best between 20-30°C. It grows from sea level to 2,000 m above sea level. It needs 500 mm rainfall. It suits hardiness zones 9-12. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
The very ripe fruit can be eaten raw. They are also stewed and used in jams, jellies, sauces, pies and preserves. They are usually cooked in baking soda first to remove the bitterness, the prepared with sugar and lemon juice. The leaves are used as a potherb. They can also be dried and stored for use in soups.
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