Shrub to medium-sized tree usually 2–3 m. tall; older stems very pale brownish or greyish white, minutely longitudinally sulcate, densely covered with lenticels, the lower nodes bearing prominent leaf-scars; young stems green with white lenticels; young buds with short obscure to quite distinct woolly hairs. Leaves opposite; blades elliptic to ovate-elliptic or almost round, 4–19(–25) cm. long, l.6–8.5(–20) cm. wide, narrowly acuminate or rarely rounded at the apex, cuneate to rounded or in large leaves rarely even distinctly cordate at the base, glabrous; lateral nerves 4–5 pairs; petiole 0.7–4 cm. long. Male inflorescences cymose, 6–12-flowered; peduncle 1.2– 3.8 cm. long; pedicels 3–9 mm. long. Male flowers: calyx 1–2 mm. long; petals oblong to oblong-spathulate, 3–4.2 mm. long, 2–3 mm. wide, rounded, slightly narrowed to the base, often slightly erose; stamens with filaments 1.2–3 mm. long, anthers 2–2.2 mm. long; rudimentary ovary obsolete or 0.5 mm. long. Female flowers: calyx-tube 1.2 cm. long, slightly expanded below, cylindrical above, either smooth or with obscure nodules in longitudinal stripes; pedicel-like stipe 3–7(–9) mm. long; lobes broadly triangular, 0.5–1 mm. long; petals oblong-spathulate, 4.8 mm. long, 2.2 mm. wide, rounded at the apex, slightly narrowed to the base, reflexed, slightly erose; staminodes with filament part 2 mm. long and triangular anther part 1.2 mm. long; style 4–5 mm. long; stigma 1.5–1.8 mm. long. Fruit flask-shaped, 3.2–4 cm. long, 1–1.2 cm. wide, either brownish, obscurely ribbed and faintly rugulose or greyish and with distinct nodulated ribs, crowned with the persistent style. Seeds reddish brown, 4–16(–18), or fide Capuron even –24, ellipsoid-subglobose, 5.5 mm. long, 4.5 mm. thick, slightly compressed, finely shallowly reticulate.
