Many-stemmed shrub to 3 m high from a massive fleshy rootstock; stems pithy at first, older branches becoming hollow, bark pale grey, finally flaking. Leaves obovate, absent at flowering time, 3–3.5 cm long, 1.5–2.5 cm wide, rounded or emarginate, petiole 1.5–3 mm long. Inflorescences congested, often subumbellate, mostly on sidebranchlets; pedicels up to 15 mm long, conical below the flower. Sepals 4.5–7 mm long; petals 5, somewhat unequal, white or greenish-white, obovate, ± 15 mm long, emarginate; stamens numerous, longer than the petals, filaments white; style elongate, curving, exceeding the stamens and protruding from the flower; stigma capitate, 0.4–0.6 mm wide, purple. Capsule, 7–10 mm high, 6-valved, each valve splitting longitudinally into 2 narrow segments; seeds obovoid-oblong, 5.5–6 mm long. Fig. 6/ 5–11 (p. 35).