Shrubs scandent or erect, rarely trees. Young branches purple-red, ferruginous or yellow-brown pubescent; mature branches blackish purple. Stipular spines either 1, recurved, 3-4 mm, or 2, one erect and one recurved; petiole 4-7 mm, densely ferruginous pilose; leaf blade ovate, rarely ovate-elliptic or ovate-oblong, 3-5 × 2-4 cm, thinly papery or submembranous, both surfaces glabrous, or abaxially sparsely pilose on veins in juvenile leaves, 3(or 5)-veined from base, veins abaxially prominent, base oblique, subrounded, margin sparsely serrulate or entire, apex obtuse or subrounded. Flowers small, several to 10 in axillary dichotomous cymes; peduncles 2-5 mm, pilose. Sepals ovate-triangular, ca. 1.3 mm, abaxially sparsely hairy, apex acute or acuminate. Petals oblong-obovate, shorter than sepals, clawed, apex rounded or emarginate. Stamens ca. as long as petals. Disk thick, fleshy, 5-lobed, centrally concave. Ovary subglobose, glabrous, 1-loculed; style 2-cleft to half, glabrous. Drupe subglobose, small, 4-5 mm in diam., with persistent styles at apex, glabrous; fruiting pedicel 2-3 mm, pilose, 1-seeded. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Aug-Nov.

Sparse forests, thickets, sandy beaches; sea level. Hainan [Vietnam].