Erect spiny shrub, 1-2 m tall; spines formed from remnants of petiole on older branches, opposite and very small. Leaves ovate, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 2-5 cm long, 1-2 cm broad, acute, glabrous; petiole 5-10 mm long. Cymes lax, becoming spinescent, axillary in the upper leaves axils. Flowers white, c. 1.5 cm across. Calyx tubular, pubescent, 5-lobed; lobes ovate, acute. Corolla-tube c. 1.5 cm long, 5-lobed with lobes acute and shorter than the tube. Drupe breaking into 2 pyrenes on maturity.

Type: Habitat in Jamaica, Barbados.

Distribution: A native of the W. Indies, introduced in some parts of Africa and Asia.

Sometimes used as a hedge plant in gardens (Parker, l.c.).