Evergreen tree to 18 m tall, more commonly 8-10 m; trunk 0.5 m diam.; wood creamy-brown, straight grained; bark smooth, very dark brown, often obscured by crustose lichen growth; branching monopodial to give a broad, dense crown of robust branches; branchlets, young leaves, petioles, inflorescence branches at first finely pubescent, later more or less glabrous; hairs pale golden, simple; leaves opposite to sub-opposite, simple, coriaceous, on petioles (8-)10(-12)mm long; midrib moderately stout, straight, prominent below; leaf laminae elliptic, occasionally ovate, (35- 48-82(-95) × (16-)22-30(-37)mm, shiny dark green and glabrous above, glaucous with scattered pale golden hairs below, margins entire and undulate (revolute in exposed leaves), apex bluntly acute or acuminate to shortly caudate, venation reticulodromous; inflorescence an erect axillary panicle to 100 mm long, lax and pedunculate, inflorescence branches pale green; bracts narrow-lanceolate and caducous, each flower subtended by one or more persistent bracteoles; flowers perfect, on pedicels 4-9 mm long, 3-4 mm diam., pale green, perianth of 6 segments, perianth segments widely ovate, stamens 12 (arranged as for the genus), ovary unilocular and superior; drupe pendulous, ellipsoid to ovoid, (19-)28(-37) × (10-)14(-18)mm, 1-seeded, pericarp fleshy, ripening through red to dark purple, glaucous or shiny.

Arbor ad 18 m; foliis oppositis, ellipticis interdum ovatis, 48-82 × 18-30 mm, acuminatis vel caudatis, suburidulatis, venis ramosissimis venulisque minutissime reticulatis, supra glabris atro-viridis nitidis, subtus glaucis adpresso-sericeis; inflorescentiis paniculatis axillaribus; ramulis, petiolisque foliorum juniorum tomentosis, pilis simplicibus pallido-aureis; floribus 3-4 mm diameter, bracteis caducis, bracteolis minutis; perianthio sex-partito, segmentis late ovatis; antheris 12; ovario superiore uniloculari; drupa ellipsoidea vel ovoidea, 30-40 mm longa, uni-seminali, pericarpio atropurpureo.