Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, to 8 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year yellow-whitish or sometimes gray-brownish, yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent, with sparse raised lenticels; branchlets of previous year gray-brownish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid-lanceolate, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green, robust, 1-2(-3) cm, sparsely stellate-pubescent, glabrescent; leaf blade green when young, obovate, obovate-oblong, or oblong, 7-20 × (2-)3-7 cm, leathery, abaxially sparsely yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent or subglabrous, adaxially glabrous, intense green and lustrous, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 5-7-jugate, pinnate, arched, rarely branched, anastomosing near margin, conspicuously raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, conspicuous abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, not lobed, base broadly cuneate to subrounded, without glands, margin remotely serrate except at base, sometimes subentire, apex acuminate or acute. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence paniculate, usually pyramidal, terminal or axillary on short branches, erect or nodding, 5-11(-22) × 2.5-8.5(-15) cm; rays opposite, decussate; first node of inflorescence with 2 rays, lax, large, yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 3-10 cm; bracts and bracteoles persistent, leaflike, yellowish green, lanceolate, yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent. Flowers on rays of 2nd and 3rd orders, not fragrant, sessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx green; tube tubular-campanulate, ca. 1.5 mm, sparsely yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent; lobes ovate, ca. 1 mm, sparsely yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent, apex obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, 4-5(-6) mm in diam., sparsely stellate-pubescent; tube very short, ca. 1 mm; lobes spreading, ovate to oblong-ovate, ca. 1.5 mm, ca. 2 × as long as tube, apex obtuse, margin entire. Stamens slightly shorter than corolla, inserted at apex of corolla tube; filaments ca. 2 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, ellipsoid, ca. 1 mm. Styles slightly obviously exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate, 3-lobed. Fruit initially turning yellow, maturing red, ovoid, ca. 1 cm × 6 mm, base rounded, apex acuminate, often stellate-pubescent; pyrenes slightly compressed, ovoid or narrowly ovoid, ca. 8 × 5 mm, with a deep ventral groove, apex acuminate. Fl. Nov-Feb, fr. May-Aug.
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