A shrub or small deciduous tree up to 12 m tall, bole often crooked and up to 25 cm in diameter, spiny when young, branches densely and finely lenticellate, grey, tendrils absent. Leaves ovate or elliptical to suborbicular, 2.5-10 cm x 1.5-6 cm, petiole 2-4 mm long. Inflorescence terminal, c. 10-flowered; corolla 10-15 mm long, tube about 3 times as long as lobes, sometimes with a few woolly hairs inside. Fruit globose, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, 2-3-seeded. Seeds nearly disk-shaped, 12-15 mm x 10-12 mm x 2.5-5 mm, densely short pubescent.

Stomachic and vermifuge (bark, wood and roots).

PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation

The bark, wood and roots are used to treat fever, snake bites, sores, wounds and eczema. The fruit pulp is applied to the skin to treat skin complaints such as scabies, rashes, burns, leprosy, sores and cuts. The roots are used to treat diabetes.