Small tree or shrub, or in East Africa a scandent shrub or liane. Leaves opposite; lamina chartaceous to subcoriaceous, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, 3–14(–16) cm. long, 2–6(–6.5) cm. wide, usually acuminate, base cuneate or obtuse to rounded, minutely verrucose and usually shiny and glabrous above, minutely silvery lepidote but otherwise glabrous beneath; lateral nerves 6–10 pairs; petiole up to 9(–13) mm. long. Inflorescence terminal and axillary panicles of spikes 2–3 cm. long, in the axils of the upper leaves. Flowers (fig. 3/6, p. 14) white, scented. Lower receptacle glabrous or pubescent; upper receptacle 1.2–1.5 mm. long and wide, not conspicuously lepidote. Sepals very shallowly triangular or little developed. Petals subreniform, 0.9 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, glabrous. Stamen-filaments 3–4 mm. long; anthers 0.4 mm. long. Disk inconspicuous, glabrous. Style 4–4.5 mm. long, sometimes somewhat flattened near apex. Fruit (fig. 4/6, p. 15) broadly elliptic in outline, up to 2.8 cm. long and 2.3 cm. wide, minutely lepidote, otherwise usually glabrous; wings 7 mm. wide; apical peg 1–2 mm. long;stipe ± 5–8 mm. long. Scales (fig. 1/6, p. 12) of a simple 8-celled type, 40–50(–70) μ in diameter, frequent in the areoles of the lower leaf-surface.