A tree 30–60 ft. in height with an erect cylindrical trunk; branchlets cylindrical, when young bearing short appressed dull brown hairs, ultimately glabrous, 2/3–1 3/4 in. long, 2–3 lin. thick, becoming hollow, bearing the ring-shaped scar of the stipule. Leaves leathery, elliptical to obovate-elliptical or oblong-elliptical, sometimes 3-lobed, the lateral lobes being much smaller than the main lobe, apex more or less sharply acute, base acute to blunt or rounded, sometimes unequal, margin sharply and unequally serrate, teeth pointing upwards, becoming fewer or absent at the base, 6–20 in. long, 4–10 in. wide, or in the lobed leaves to 14 in. wide, when young sparsely hairy above, ultimately glabrous and shining, tomentose on the lower face, midrib and ascending lateral veins prominent beneath, lateral veins 10–12 on each side, the lowest pair often strong and in the lobed leaves forming the mid-vein of the lobe; petiole hairy like the stem when young, becoming sparsely hairy later, varying much in length but shorter than the blade, 1–6 in. long. Stipules broadly ovate, acute, silky hairy, about 1/4 in. long. Male inflorescences in pairs in the leaf-axils, equal to or shorter than the leaf-stalk; peduncle hairy like the young stem, 3/4–2 3/4 in. long, repeatedly forking or passing into three secondary branches which in turn are forked, the branchlets of the 3rd to 5th degree about 1 1/2 lin. thick and closely beset with flowers; bracts at the base of the branches broadly triangular-ovate, densely hairy, soon falling, barely 1/2 lin. long; flowers white, fragrant; bracteoles minute, obovate or cuneate; perianth with 4 very obtuse concave segments, ciliolate above; stamens 4, scarcely exceeding the perianth. Female inflorescences in pairs; peduncle barely 1/4 in. long, bearing a head of 7–15 flowers; perianth ovoid, covered with short grey hairs, about 1 1/4 lin. long and 1 lin. in diam., with a very small mouth through which protrudes the long spathulate stigma. Peduncle lengthening to 3/4–1 in. long in fruit; fruits ovoid, about 7 lin. long and 5–6 lin. in diam., fleshy wall of perianth about 1 lin. thick, endocarp about 1/2 lin. thick.
