Plants woody; stems terete, slightly swollen at the nodes but not jointed, glabrous. Leaves simple, 5 - 10 cm long, 2.5-7 cm wide, coriaceous, usually broadly ovate, rarely ovate-oblong, shortly cuspitate; margins faintly serrate didtally; bases broad and rounded or narrowed and sub-connate, with 4-5 pairs of spreading veins, the lowest pair branching outwards, both surfaces glabrous, the lower paler. Cymes in spreading panicles shorter than the leaves, puberulous. Flowers 4-merous, pointed, the buds about 2.5 cm long; calyces truncate, glabrous; petals minutely puberulent externally; styles conspicuous. Berries obovate, 10-15 mm long, dry. black when ripe with scanty pulp and a single seed; seeds 6-12 mm long, obovate, brown.
The above description is based on that by Lawson's original description and King's description in Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula.