Evergreen, dioecious, much-branched shrub or small tree up to c. 12 m high. Shoots puberulent when young, becoming glabrous, slightly ridged. Lvs usually puberulent when very young, becoming glabrous, alternate, elliptic, oblong or elliptic-ovate, dark glossy green above, paler below, (3)-5-8-(10) cm long; lf margin somewhat thickened, undulate, usually deeply serrate-spinose, the upper lvs in particular sometimes flat and entire with mucronate apex, but some lvs, especially those of juvenile and vegetative shoots, always spinous; petiole grooved, (3)-5-10-(15) mm long. Fls few to numerous in fascicles or small cymes; calyx teeth 4, broadly triangular, < tube, ciliolate; petals 4, white, 3-5 mm long; staminodes of ♀ fls large; vestigial ovary of ♂ fls much reduced. Fr. globose, bright red, 6-10 mm diam.