A much-branched tree up to 9 m. tall with a narrow elongated crown or a shrub. Stem with corky, greyish, deeply fissured bark; branchlets 4-gonous, brownish, smooth. Leaf-lamina 4·5–14 x 2·2–5·5(7·5) ·cm., elliptic to narrowly elliptic, rarely ovate or ovate-lanceolate, ± acuminate at the apex, the acumen blunt or acute, cuneate or acute at the base, coriaceous or subcoriaceous, discolorous, dark green and slightly shining above, lighter green and dull beneath (brown, reddish brown or green above, green or yellowish-green beneath on drying), longitudinally 3-nerved, the nerves impressed on the upper face, raised beneath, the transverse and tertiary nerves either visible or inconspicuous, reticulation inconspicuous; lateral longitudinal nerves slightly arched between the insertions with the transverse ones towards the distal 1/3; petiole 2–7 mm. long. Cymes up to 2·5 cm. long, many-flowered, in dense axillary clusters or, frequently, on the leafless nodes; peduncles 3–13 mm. long, compressed, blackish; pedicels 6–13 mm. long, blackish. Receptacle c. 2 x 3 mm., hemispherical; limb 3–3·5 mm. in diameter, sub-campanulate, 4-lobed, the lobes blunt-triangular, black on drying like the receptacle. Petals c. 2 x 3 mm., obovate, obtuse, deep violet. Stamens with violet filaments c. 5–6 mm. long, and yellowish anthers c. 2 mm. long. Style c. 7 mm. long. Fruit 8–10 x 7–8·5 mm., subglobose, green when young, black at maturity.
