Erect, evergreen, arborescent shrub, profusely branched; brancelets with a pair of stout, glabrous, spreading, forked spines; leaves opposite, subsessile, usually oblong, sometimes elliptic, obtuse/ emarginate at apex, rounded or subcordate at base, entire, glossy, coriaceous, shining above; flowers white or pinkish, faintly scented, arranged in terminal, pubescent, corymbose cymes; pedicels short; bracts minute, linear; calyx pubescent, divided more than half way down into lanceolate, acute, ciliate segments; corolla white or rosy, tube glabrous or puberulous, throat swollen; lobes lanceolate, acute, about half as long as the tube; stamens-5, epipetalous, included, anthers lanceolate, base rounded; ovary glabrous 2-cells, 4-ovuled; style filiform, stigma fusiform; berries ellipsoid, red turning purple or black on ripening, usually 2-seeded.