Shrubs or small trees 0.5-4 m tall, glabrous throughout. Petiole 1-8 mm; leaf blade elliptic or narrowly so, 4-17 X 1-6 cm, papery, apex acuminate; lateral veins 5-12 pairs. Cymes di-or trichotomous; bracts not scaly. Flower buds with an ovoid head, apex acute. Corolla white or yellow-white, tube 0.8-1.7 cm; lobes obliquely elliptic, mostly falcate, 5-15 X 3-10 mm. Stamens inserted at or above middle of corolla tube. Ovary glabrous. Follicles obliquely and narrowly ellipsoid, oblong, or very narrowly oblong, 2-12 X 0.5-1.5 cm, beak 1-2 cm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jul-Nov.