Shrub or small tree up to 4 m. tall; young branches glabrous, reddish, sparsely aculeate; aculei recurved, 4–10 mm. long. Leaves 5–18 cm. long; petiole and rhachis terete, narrowly grooved above, sometimes aculeate. Leaflets (1) 2–4-jugate, chartaceous or subcoriaceous, opposite or subopposite, subsessile or shortly petiolulate, terminal one usually with a petiolule (or segment of the rhachis) 0·5–2·5 cm. long; lamina (2) 3–7 × (1) 2–3·5 cm., elliptic to broadly elliptic, sparsely dotted with very conspicuous pellucid glands, rounded or obtuse at the apex, margin crenulate, abruptly and narrowly cuneate at the base; midrib impressed on the upper surface, prominent below; lateral nerves 5–10 pairs. Inflorescence 2–10 cm. long, of terminal and sometimes also axillary subcorymbose panicles, glabrous; bracts and bracteoles very small; pedicels 1–2 mm. long. Flowers 4-merous, usually in cymose clusters at the ends of the panicle-branches. Male flowers: sepals 4, 0·4–0·6 mm. long, united at the base, obtuse or rounded; petals 4, 3·5 × 1–5 mm., imbricate; stamens 4, inserted at the base of the gynophore; filaments flattened, subulate, longer than the petals; anthers 1·3 mm. long, basifixed, deeply lobed at the base; gynophore 0·6 mm. long; vestigial ovary c. 0·8 mm. long. Female flowers, petals 4·5 × 1·7 mm.; staminodes 4, vestigial, reduced to the aborted anthers; gynophore very short; ovary of 1 carpel, 1·5 mm. long, oblique, 1-locular, 2-ovulate; style lateral, short, incurved; stigma broadly discoid, black. Fruit c. 8 mm. in diam., with stipe c. 1 mm. long, globose, densely glandular-foveolate, orange-red. Seed c. 6 mm. in diam., subglobose, black, shiny.