Tree, 20 – 30 m tall, 5 – 10 m wide, dense crown or canopy. Bark rough, fibrous, grey, persistent on lower half of trunk only or occasionally more, then smooth, grey or white above due to shedding in ribbons from top downwards. Leaves alternate, petiole terete to slightly flattened, 1.5 – 2.5 cm long, lamina, broadly lanceolate to lanceolate, 7 – 17 x 2 – 3.3 cm. Inflorescence mostly terminal, sometimes axillary, panicle of 7-flowered umbels on 5 – 13 mm long peduncles. Flowers white, c. 1.5 cm across, on angular, 1 – 7 mm long pedicels. Buds fusiform to diamond-shaped, (6-) 8 – 10 mm long, with 3 – 5 mm long, conical, sometimes rostrate, calyptra, hypanthium obconical, nearly as long as calyptra, 3 – 4 mm wide, with 4, faint ribs. Fruits copular, barrel-shaped or ± urceolate, 5 – 9 x 4 – 6 mm, faintly ribbed; disc broad, steeply descending; valves mostly 4, deeply enclosed. Seeds compressed, ovoid, brown to grey.