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Flowers appearing with the young leaves in terminal ample many-flowered panicles 9–30 cm. long; branches of inflorescence tomentose or tomentellous and glandular; bracteoles 5–6 mm. long, caducous, lanceolate, tomentellous, glandular.
Leaves at the ends of the branches; lamina up to 40 × 40 cm., very broadly cordate-ovate, with 3–5 (7) usually acuminate lobes, greyish-tomentose below, less so above; petiole up to 27 cm. long, harshly tomentose.
Female flower: ovary ovoid, tomentellous; style c. 1 mm. long, glabrous; vestigial stamens in three clusters of about 3 on short filaments 1/3 the length of the ovary; gynophore c. 0·5 mm. long, glabrous.
Follicles 3–5, up to 6 × 3 cm., held rather erect, on tomentellous stipes c. 1 cm. long, ovoid, shortly apiculate or acute, brown-tomentellous outside.
Small tree, or occasionally reaching 25 m. tall; bark smooth and peeling off in flakes, silvery or pale in the inner layers; branches thick and stiff.
Calyx c. 4 × 3·5 mm., greenish, campanulate, 5-lobed about 1/3 of the way down, tomentellous outside and inside.
Male flower: stamens many, in a capitate-globose cluster on a slender glabrous androphore c. 2 mm. long.
Seeds several per follicle, c. 8 × 6 mm., oblong-ellipsoid; testa blackish; aril small.
