An erect, much-branched shrub, 1 to 4 meters in height. Leaves occur in clusters on short branches and are obovate to oblong-obovate, 1 to 6 centimeters long, entire or somewhat toothed or lobed near the apex, narrow and pointed at the base, short-stalked, and rough on the upper surface. Flowers are axillary, solitary, or , or 2 to 4 on a common stalk, and borne in inflorescences shorter than the leaves and in the axils of the leaves; the calyx-lobes are green, somewhat hairy, and linear being 5 to 6 millimeters long; the corolla is white, 5 millimeters long, and divided into oblong lobes. Fruit a drupe, yellow, rounded, 4 to 5 millimeters in diameter, four-seeded, somewhat fleshy in the part, and stony inside.

Stomachic (tea made from leaves); as antidote for vegetable poisons (root)

Philippine Medicinal Plants
Bureau of Plant Industry

A decoction of the leaves is prescribes as a substitute for tea, for diarrhea with bloody discharge, for dysentery and as a cure for coughs. It is also beneficial in secondary and constitutional syphilitic affections. The dried leaves are boiled, the resulting fluid being used internally as a cure for stomach trouble. An infusion of the leaves to be taken in cases of fever. The root is used for cachexia and syphilis.