Large, erect shrub or small tree, up to 1.5 m high, young branches striate or sulcate, pubescent; older petiole dilated at the base into large, sheathing stipules; leaves alternate, usually very large, simple, broadly ovate, subcordate at the base, coarsely serrate or dentate, glabrous, deep green above, whitish beneath with minute branched hairs; peduncles up to 25 cm; opposite the leaves, tendrils absent; inflorescence crymbose cyme; flowers greenish-white; calyx 5-toothed; petals 5, connate at the base near the disk, adhering to the 5-lobed staminal tube, revolute; filaments inserted between lobes of the tube, inflexed; anthers free; ovary inserted on the disc, 3-6 celled; style short; stigma swollen; ovules erect, solitary, in each cell; berry 3-6 celled 3-6 seeded, usually succulent, subglobose, flattened at the top, black when ripe; seeds wedge shaped.