Liana; outer bark loose, thin, brown, often peeling. Petioles short, narrowly-winged; blades elliptic to obovate, acute to short-acuminate or rounded at apex with a short downturned apiculum, obtuse to attenuate and decurrent at base, 6-10 cm long, 2.5-6 cm wide, glabrate to minutely scabrid with longer trichomes on midrib above, the surface punctate with persistent bases of scabrid trichomes, glabrous or scabridulous below except sparsely hirsute on veins, the midrib often arched. Panicles terminal or upper-axillary; rachis often extended well beyond floriferous part; flowers many, pedicellate, fragrant; sepals 5, unequal (2 enlarged), +/- maroon in bud, orange after anthesis, soon closing (perhaps only after pollination) to enclose persistent stamens and developing ovary; petals usually 5, obovate, ca 5 mm long, spreading to reflexed at anthesis, caducous; stamens numerous, ca 5 mm long, bright yellow, dehiscing in bud; carpel 1, globose; style bent in bud; stigma discoid, minutely papillate, held slightly above anthers soon after anthesis. Fruits small, rounded, black, minutely white-arillate, held within 2 orange dishlike sepals until maturity when the sepals open, indehiscent and dispersed by birds; seed 1. Croat 14610. Abundant on trees on the shore, and frequent in the canopy of the forest within the island. Flowers in the early dry season, mostly from January to March; the flowers last for a very short time. The fruits may appear mature from February to August. Infected fruits may persist most of the year. Pollen appears to be removed rather quickly from the anthers. Since it is somewhat tacky it is unlikely that considerable amounts blow away. The flowers are ideally suited to pollen feeders and are possibly pollinated by them. The species has been seen visited by the bee Trigona cupira.