Small tree or shrub 1–6 m. high, flowering before the leaves appear; bark grey-brown, fissured and eventually peeling to reveal a yellowish brown cortex; branchlets woody, deeply sulcate between the nodes when young, densely yellow-brown appressed setose, becoming glabrescent. Leaf-lamina elliptic-ovate, 4.5–12 cm. long, 2.3–8.5 cm. wide, apex acute to shortly acuminate, base cuneate to subcordate, margin minutely denticulate, bullate and densely appressed setose above, more finely setose on the venation beneath; midrib and 2 pairs of basal longitudinal nerves impressed above, prominent beneath, reticulation prominent; petiole 1–3.6 cm. long. Flowers 5-merous, ± 6 densely clustered at the apices of the branches; pedicels stout, ± 1 mm. long; bracts caducous, lanceolate to broadly ovate, ± 10 mm. long, 7.5 mm. wide, densely appressed setose outside. Calyx-tube (fig. 9/6, p. 30) cup-shaped, 8 mm. long, 8 mm. in diameter, densely appressed pilose when young, becoming more sparsely pilose, with a ± glabrous apical rim; lobes oblong-ovate, 7–8 mm. long, 6 mm. wide, apex rounded or obliquely truncate, margins ciliate, otherwise glabrous; intersepalar appendages absent. Petals magenta, obcordate, 22–26 mm. long, 19–23 mm. wide, apex emarginate, margin shortly ciliate. Stamens 10, markedly unequal; 5 large stamens with anthers 11 mm. long, connective produced 9–14.5 mm., appendage 1.5–2.5 mm. long, incurved, filament 12 mm. long; 5 small stamens with anthers 9 mm. long, connective produced 1.5 mm., appendage ± 2.5 mm. long, somewhat incurved, filament 9 mm. long. Fruiting calyx enlarging to 10 mm. long, 8 mm. in diameter, calyx-lobes reflexed; capsule slightly exserted, apex setose.
