Shrub, often semi-scandent, or small tree 1-4 m high; branches fairly flexible, grey to yellowy brown with prominent white lenticels, glabrous or with short, coarse hairs. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 7-42 mm long, 5-13 mm wide, dark green, thin, drying papery, often pubescent but never farinose, alternate or crowded on short side shoots, lateral veins usually visible; especially on ventral surface; petiole 2-4 mm long, pubescent on upper surface at least. Flowers solitary in axils of leaves, corymbose or racemose in appearance on side shoots; pedicels slender, glabrous to sparsely pube­scent, up to 2 cm long; buds globose in out­line. Sepals 4, free, decussate, outer sepals concave, folded laterally, equal, c. 8 X 8 mm, pale mauve or purple-flushed, glabrous to shortly pubescent, margin of inner sepals, pubescent. Petals 0. Androphore c. 2 cm long, glabrous to thinly pubescent, with basal nectary not conspicuous in open flowers, nor often persisting on young fruit, flask-shaped, with recurved neck not attached to andro­phore, mouth dentate. Stamens usually 5, 1 stamen at lower level than rest, not often persisting on mature fruit. Gynophore 5-7 mm long, thinly pubescent. Ovary cylindric, with capitate, sessile stigma. Ovules numerous, attached on two placentas. Fruit cylindric, usually 5 cm (up to 5-4 cm) long and 5 mm wide, verrucose, subtorulose, glabrous to thinly pubescent. Seeds c. 3 mm long, embedded in scarlet powdery matrix, reni-form with verrucose black to brown testa. Fig. 23 : 3.