Shrubs 1.5-3 (-4) m tall, stem ashy-grey, branches pubescent. Leaves opposite, ovate to rhomboid-ovate, 1.5-5 cm long, 1-3 cm broad, entire to sinuate-crenate, subacute-obtuse; petiole up to 2.5 cm long, densely hirsute. Cymes dichotomously branched, axillary, forming a rounded terminal panicle. Flowers creamy-white or pale yellowish, c. 1.5 cm across; pedicels 5-10 mm long, densely hirsute; bracts ovate lanceolate. Calyx campanulate, glabrous, pale or somewhat yellowish green, somewhat inflated, 5-lobed; lobes 4-5 mm long, ovate-triangulate, Corolla-tube 2-2.5 cm long, much narrower than the calyx, pubescent externally; lobes 5, subequal, ovate-elliptic, 7-8 mm long, obtuse. Drupe obovoid, 8-12 mm long, black, wrinkled, usually 4-lobed, enclosed by the persistent calyx; seeds oblong, white.
Fl. Per.: July-October.
Type: India, Koenig,.
Distribution: Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Burma.
A fairly common shrub of arid plains, low hills, deserts of Sind, Punjab and Baluchistan.
The root is given as a demulcent in gonorrhoea, and decoction of the plant is considered as an alterative. It helps cure stomach troubles and swellings in cattle. (Watt, Dict. Econ. Prod. Ind. 2:374. 1889).
