Small tree or large shrub with an open, irregular crown from small upright branches. Bark dark brown, smooth. Leaves dull green above, 1-2 inches long.
is a shrub or small tree to 6 m in height and 10 cm instem diameter. It usually has multiple stems from below or just above the ground level. The stem bark is gray or gray-brown, smooth with light colored dots or lines. The stem wood is light brown, hard, fine-textured, and heavy with a specific gravity of 0.83 .The plant is supported by hard, brittle, dark-brown roots. Velvetseed tends to form branchy crowns of opposite, moderately fine branches and twigs. The opposite leaves have short, hairy petioles and oval to elliptic blades 3 by 7.5 cm long. Axillary, fewflowered cymes bear small tubular yellowishwhite flowers. Three to 4 months later, globose, 4-to 8-mm drupes with a persistent calyx develop.They turn red to black at maturity and contain two
to four seeds enclosed in a bony shell. The fruits have a slightly sweet,
slightly sour, and slightly astringent flavor.