Shrublet or shrub or small tree (0·3)1–8 m. high, sometimes sarmentose, with spines up to 8 cm. long, axillary or terminating short axillary branches, without latex; branches 4-lined, reddish-purple to reddish-brown with numerous pale somewhat prominent lenticels and sometimes puberulous when young, becoming eventually terete, pale grey or cream, glabrous, slender. Leaves fasciculate or not, petiolate; lamina bright green, slightly paler below, 1–6·6(9·7) × 0·6–3·5(4·3) cm., ovate or lanceolate to elliptic or subcircular, acute or rarely shortly and obtusely acuminate to obtuse or more rarely rounded at the apex, with margin shallowly and ± irregularly rounded-serrulate to acutely incurved-denticulate, rounded or rarely subcordate to cuneate or angustate at the base, submembranous to chartaceous, with lateral nerves and ± lax reticulate venation more prominent below than above; petiole 1·5–6(9) mm. long. Cymes dichasial at first, becoming monochasial, solitary, axillary, or 1–4 on short axillary shoots, ± slender, with peduncle (5)7–23 mm. long, glabrous or rarely puberulous; pedicels 2–5·5 mm. long, glabrous or rarely puberulous, articulated usually in the lower 1/2; flowers (1)3-c. 55 in each cyme, 2·5–4(5) mm. in diam., bisexual. Sepals 5, unequal, 0·4–1 mm. long, triangular to semicircular, obtuse to rounded, glabrous or rarely puberulous outside, with margin ciliolate to subentire. Petals 5, white (in our area), (1)1·5–2·7 mm. long, oblong to oblong-elliptic, with margin finely ciliolate to entire. Stamens 5, with filaments 0·7–1 mm. long, slender, arising below the disk. Disk yellow, small, convex, 5-lobed. Ovary 3-locular, subglobose, c. 1/4-immersed in the disk; style very short, with 3 large divergent stigmas. Capsule white when immature, pink to red when ripe, 7–13 mm. long, pyriform to obconic-3-gonous or subglobose, rounded, subcoriaceous to somewhat fleshy, smooth. Seeds 3, reddish-brown, rugulose, completely enclosed by a bright orange aril.
