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Small to medium-sized tree usually 5-12 m high with an erect narrow crown, occa­sionally up to 22 m high under favourable conditions, or very often a shrub, irregularly deciduous. Bark dark grey or brown, rough, longitudinally fissured. Leaves alternate, with a single pair of large leaflets: petiole (0,6) 1,5-4(4,8) cm long, glabrous; leaflets arti­culated basally, asymmetric, semi-cordate-ovate, (3) 4,5-9(12) cm long, (1,4)2,5-5(6,5) cm wide, inner margin slightly convex, outer margin cordate or truncate basally and strongly convex, acute or obtuse apically, coriaceous, with 7-12 prominent nerves arising from the point of attachment, with­out a midrib, with numerous scattered pellu­cid gland-dots, smelling of turpentine when crushed; terminal appendage sessile, arti­culated, up to 5 mm long and 3 mm wide. Stipules up to 5 X 3,5 mm, ovate, soon deciduous. Inflorescence a slender raceme or panicle up to 7 cm long. Flowers small, greenish-white or greenish-yellow, on pedicels 4-8 mm long; bracts minute; bracteoles absent. Flower-buds globose, 3-4 mm in diameter. Sepals 4, the 2 outer ±6x5 mm, the 2 inner ± 5,5 x 4,5 mm, reflexed in flower. Petals 0. Stamens 20-25; filaments free, filiform, up to 6 mm long, exserted; anthers 2,5-3 mm long. Ovary ± 2 mm long, compressed, glabrous; style lateral; stigma expanded. Pods yellowish-brown, compres­sed, very shortly stipitate, 3,5-6 cm long, 2-3,2 cm wide, reniform or obliquely ± semi-circular, lightly reticulate, with nume­rous scattered resin-glands, indehiscent. Seed large, compressed, ±2,5 x 1,4 cm, usually reniform, corrugated, with numerous small sticky reddish resin-glands. Fig. 3.