Perennial shrub up to 5 m. tall; stems when young somewhat angular to subterete, densely covered with a short velutinous to somewhat harsh stellate indumentum, usually of a greyish-olive colour and as a rule with long whitish spreading hairs (very rarely absent) at least on the very young parts, when older terete, glabrescent, woody and ultimately with a grey cortex, faintly fissured by rather short longitudinal markings. Leaf-lamina up to 20 × 18 cm. (much smaller in upper leaves), suborbicular-cordate or broadly ovate-cordate, acuminate, with a usually long narrow acumen and a deep narrow basal sinus, somewhat irregularly but usually distinctly crenate or serrate; the upper surface dark green, very shortly stellately subvelutinous, the lower surface much paler, grey, densely stellate-velutinous, and sometimes in addition with few-rayed to simple stiff stellate hairs mainly on the distinct prominent reticulate nervation and with long patent hairs on the main veins near the base; petiole usually about as long as the lamina, velutinous, with or without long patent hairs. Flowers pale mauve, lavender or lilac with deep-red-purple centre and radiating purple veins, numerous, axillary, on main branches and also on short axillary shoots, aggregated in terminal and lateral, ultimately leafless, often large pseudo-panicles; pedicels usually under 3 cm. long, velutinous, with or without pilose hairs, articulated in upper 6 mm. Calyx 4–6 mm. long, cupuliform, tomentose and sometimes also pilose; lobes 4–7 mm. long, triangular or ovate-triangular, acute or mucronate, tomentose-velutinous, with inconspicuous median veins. Petals c. 12 mm. long, obovate-obcuneate. Staminal tube deep red-purple and glabrous in conical portion, stellate-hairy at the apex. Fruit c. 10 × 15 mm., subglobose to depressed-globose, umbilicate, densely stellate-hairy. Mericarps 12–25, c. 10 × 5–6 mm., semi-orbicular-reniform, rounded and muticous, papery and brittle when mature, 1-seeded. Seeds c. 3 × 2 mm.
