Many-stemmed shrub or slender tree up to 7 m high, often sub-scandent or scandent, sometimes forming a large spreading bush. Bark pale grey and smooth when young, but rough and dark brown when old; young branchlets glabrous to ± densely pubescent. Leaves glabrous to ± densely pubescent: petiole 1-6 mm long; rhachis 3-8 cm long, narrowly winged especially apically; leaflets 3-5(6) pairs, opposite or subopposite, sessile, elliptic, sub-rotund or obovate, (1)1,5-3,5 cm long, (0,6)1-1,8(2) cm wide, obtuse or acute basally, often oblique, obtuse or acute and usually mucronate apically. Stipules obliquely ovate, up to 6 mm long and 3 mm wide, deciduous. Inflorescence a conÂgested subglobose panicle, borne on short lateral branchlets or sometimes terminal; inflorescence branches much abbreviated, semi-woody, glabrous or pubescent. Flowers scarlet, sessile or on pedicels up to 1,5 mm long; bracts scale-like, less than 1 mm long, deciduous. Calyx leathery, tube obconical, 3-6 mm long, persistent; lobes 4, subequal, obovate to elliptic, 6-9 mm long, 3-4 mm wide. Petals 5, oblanceolate, clawed, 10-14 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, veined. Stamens 10, united basally for 2-4,5 mm and forming a sheath around the stipe of the ovary, sheath split open on the side to which the stipe of the ovary is attached to the calyx receptacle, projecting as a narrow irregular rim ± 1 mm above the junction of the stamen-filaments; one or two filaments often free to the base on the split side; filaments linear, 12-16 mm long, exceeding the corolla by 3-5 mm; anthers elliptic, 1,5-2 mm long. Ovary oblong, 4-5 mm long, ± 2 mm wide, comÂpressed, on a stipe 4-5 mm long and ± 1 mm thick, adnate to one side of the calyx recepÂtacle; style 13-15 mm long. Pod as in generic description, 4-16 cm long, 2,5-3,9 cm wide. Seeds pale brown, ovoid, 8—12 mm long, 8-12 mm wide, 5-6 mm thick, with a large comÂpressed yellow basal aril.
