A spiny shrub or tree up to 20 m. Young twigs fulvous-tomentose, later glabrescent. Petioles 8-12 mm long, Leaf-blade elliptic-oblong to elliptic-oblanceolate, 10-20 x 4-10 cm, apex subacute, sometimes obtuse, rounded or roundly cuneate at the base, subentire or undulate, thinly coriaceous, lateral nerves 15-20 pairs, scarcely prominent above, prominent beneath, parallel, reaching the margin, tertiary nerves also parallel and perpendicular to the laterals, slightly prominent beneath; glabrous above, sparingly pubescent beneath, more evenly so along the midrib and nerves, green above, somewhat glaucous beneath. Stipules soon falling. Flowers arranged in axillary fascicles and also in fascicles on leafless terminal and supra-axillary “spikes”, the fascicles either unisexual or bisexual; axes densely puberulous; bracts small, acute; flowers pedicellate. Male flowers: pedicels 2 mm long, slender, glabrous; sepals triangular, 1.5 mm long, glabrous; petals flabelliform, 1 mm long, cream; disc annular, entire. 1.5 mm diam.; stamina] column 1 mm high; anthers 0.5 mm long; pistillode bifid, 0.5 mm long. Female flowers: pedicels 1.5 mm long, stout, pubescent; sepals triangular-lanceolate, 2 mm long, sparingly pubescent outside at the base, otherwise glabrous; petals oblanceolate, 1.5 mm long; outer disc annular, undulate, inner disc urceolate, toothed, enclosing the ovary; ovary subglobose, 1 mm diam., glabrous; styles 2, bifid, 1 mm long. Fruits globose, 7-9 mm diam. (5-6 mm diem. when dried), fleshy, black; pyrenes 2, furrowed, 1-seeded; cotyledons refuse.

Holotype: Ceylon, Hermann Herb. Vol. 2, f. 71. (BM).

Distribution: Kashmir, India, Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra.