A shrub 6 ft. high, with grey branches, glabrous when young, with very numerous lenticels. Leaves obovate-oblong or obovate, sparingly pilose beneath when young, later glabrous, papery, long and abruptly acuminate-acute, usually rounded at the base, entire, paler beneath, with venation more prominent beneath, 4–7 1/2 in. long, 1 1/2–3 1/2 in. broad; petiole thick, densely silky-villous when young, at length calvescent, 2–4 lin. long. Flowers dimorphic, 4-merous, few, white, in axillary fascicles at the densely yellow-silky-hairy nodes; bracteoles very small, silky; pedicels as long as the flowers, shortly pilose. Sepals free to the base, triangular-ovate, broadly imbricate, densely and shortly pilose on both sides, very shortly fimbriate, expanded during flowering, persistent. Petals bifid to the base; lobes linear, 1/2 as long as the sepals, with margins fimbriate and closely approximating to form a white urceolate or subglobose tube. Filaments a little exceeding or twice as long as the petals, filiform above, at the base somewhat flattened and pilose. Style very short or twice as long as the densely silky-villous 4-celled ovary; stigma subcapitate. Fruit dehiscing by 4 spreading valves united at the base, not deciduous. Testa dark brown, horny, loosely reddish-pilose. Cotyledons thick.
