Slender shrub 2–4.5 m tall; bark green, very smooth; slash pink, thin and fibrous; branches purplish brown, graceful, the youngest parts with dense small lenticels, later finely ridged. Leaves thin, copper-coloured when young, elliptic, 3–9 cm long, 1.5–4 cm wide, narrowed to an acute, subacute or ± rounded apex, rounded or broadly cuneate at the base, crinkly at margin when dry, crenate-serrate, the serrations often ending in inwardly curved teeth, lateral veins and reticulate tertiary venation not very evident, finely raised on both surfaces; petiole 1–3 mm long; stipules linear-lanceolate, 4–9 mm long, very shortly 2–3-fimbriate at apex, soon falling. Buds slender, fusiform, ± 7 mm long. Inflorescences 1(–2)-flowered; pedicel 1–1.5 cm (–2.2 cm in fruit) long, jointed 4–10 mm from base. Sepals elliptic, 5–6 mm long, 3–5 mm wide, becoming a brilliant dark rich red in fruit and up to 15 mm long, 8–9 mm wide. Petals yellow, obovate, 9 mm long, 6 mm wide. Anthers 1.5 mm long, opening by apical pores; filaments 2–2.5 mm long. Carpels 5; style 5–6 mm long, 5-fid at apex. Drupelets ovoid, 6–8 mm long, 5–6 mm wide.