A small, dioecious, deciduous tree or shrub, 5—10(—15) m tall. Trunk terete, up to 6(—20) cm in diameter. Bark 1 mm thick, very tough, green outside, yellow inside, smooth, with large lenticels, lemon-like scent and pungent taste; branchlets slender, glabrous but apical parts ferrugineous-villose. Leaves alternate, simple, aromatic; petiole 8—18 mm long; blade lanceolate to oblong, 7—15 cm x 1.5—3 cm, base acute, apex long-acuminate, membranaceous or chartaceous, finely pellucid-dotted, brownish-green when young, shiny dark-green above, glaucous below, lateral veins slender, in 8—12 pairs. Inflorescence an axillary, 4—5-flowered, umbelliform raceme, about 1 cm long; primary peduncle accrescent, up to 1 cm long; secondary peduncle thin, 5—8 mm long, with basal, lanceolate bract and apically a globose involucre of 4 decussate bracts surrounding the umbel like a flower bud; pedicel minutely puberulous, 3—4 mm long; flower 3—4 mm in diameter, yellowish-white; tepals 5—6, broadly ovate, 1.5—2.5 mm long, outside glabrous; male flowers with 9 stamens in 3 whorls, filaments sparsely hairy, those of 3rd whorl with 2 basal subsessile glands, anthers quadrangular; female flowers with 9 staminodes, a large, glabrous ovary with very short style and a large, multi-lobed stigma. Fruit a globose berry, 5—6 mm across, apiculate when young, blackish when mature, seated on a pedicel 3—5 mm long which is slightly thickened at the apex into a cup-shaped receptacle. Seed spherical, white. |
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