Trees, rarely shrubs, to 18 m tall; bark grayish or brownish gray, not flaking; young branchlets hairy; old branches terete, glabrous. Stipules minute, subulate, glabrous, early caducous; petiole 2-5 mm, hairy when young, gradually glabrescent; leaf blade narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong-elliptic, or slightly oblanceolate, usually 3-4 × as long as wide, 4-10 × 1-3 cm, thinly leathery, both surfaces glabrous, sometimes abaxially fasciculate-hairy in vein axils, lateral veins 4-6 pairs, reticulate veins slightly conspicuous, base narrowly to broadly cuneate, margin shallowly serrate to subentire, slightly revolute, apex acute to shortly acuminate, rarely obtuse, acumen to 6 mm, usually shorter, extreme tip blunt. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, paniculate, 4-8(-12) cm; rachis pubescent, hairs spreading; lower bracts resembling small leaves, upper bracts linear, lanceolate, or narrowly oblanceolate, 2-3 mm, glabrous except for ciliate margin. Pedicels 1.5-2 mm, articulate near middle, pubescent, hairs spreading. Flowers numerous, inserted along rachis singly or in fascicles, white, 8- or 9-merous, ca. 5 mm in diam., to 8 mm in diam. at fruiting stage. Calyx tube (1-)1.5-2 mm, smooth or longitudinally ribbed, outside pubescent, hairs spreading, long; sepals drying white, 2.5-3 mm, linear to linear-spatulate, both sides glabrous, margin densely ciliate, cilia longer than 1/2 width of sepal, apex acute to obtuse, often mucronate. Petals narrowly elliptic or linear-oblanceolate, 3-4 mm, slightly longer and wider than sepals, both sides glabrous, margin densely ciliate, cilia as for sepals, apex slightly obtuse. Disk glands ca. 0.5 mm in diam., pubescent. Stamens 8 or 9(or 10); filaments 3-4.5 mm, finally overtopping perianth, hairy, hairs spreading, white, long. Free part of ovary sparsely hairy, hairs spreading, white, long; styles 3 or 4, ca. 2.5 mm, joined in basal part to form a thick column, sparsely hairy in lower part; placentas 3 or 4, each with 2-4 ovules. Capsule ca. 3.5 mm. Fl. May-Dec, fr. Dec-Jan of following year.

Lau 3225 (A), collected from Hainan, is not referable to Homalium stenophyllum; see inadequately known "species A" below. Also from Hainan, A. Chun & Tso 43732 (A, K) looks rather different from most other specimens; perhaps the inflorescences are at a younger stage.

● Mountain forests, also on rocks along streams; 500-1000 m. Hainan.