A tree; twigs at first finely tawny-puberulous, soon becoming glabrous. Leaves shortly petioled, oblong-ovate or ovate, acutely acuminate, tip mucronulate, minutely and remotely toothed, base wide-cuneate, 2-glandular beneath, 4–10 in. long, 2 1/2–3 1/2 in. wide, glabrous on both surfaces, firmly chartaceous; main nerves 7–8 on each side, arching; transverse veinlets nearly parallel; all prominent beneath, midrib and main nerves also prominent above; petiole 1/3–1 in. long, glabrous, channelled above; stipules lanceolate, rigid, subscarious, persistent, 3 lin. long. Spikes solitary, axillary, 4–10 in. long; rhachis angular, rigid, tawny-puberulous; bracts clustered, strongly imbricate, ovate, acute, rigid, striate, subscarious, pubescent, 1–2 lin. long, with male flowers in each axil and a central female, or with only male flowers, or with only a solitary female flower. Male flowers: Calyx in bud ovoid, subacute; segments 4, valvate, puberulous externally; pedicels puberulous, 1 lin. long. Petals 0. Stamens about 30, arising from a subglobose receptacle, free, with small oblong densely pubescent glands interspersed among the free filaments; anthers introrse, 2-celled; cells ovate, separated by a somewhat widened connective slightly produced beyond them. Female flowers: Sepals 5, imbricate, triangular or ovate, acute, puberulous. Ovary 3-celled, densely tawny-setose, seated on a thick flat disk; styles very slightly connate at the base, somewhat recurved, 2-fid, pubescent outside and at the base inside, stigmatic and fimbriate-papillose on the inner face above; cells 1-ovuled.
