A shrub or small tree found on moist lowlands and uplands. Leaves are deciduous, alternate, and pinnately compound. Leaflets are elliptic, crenulate to entire with a citrus scent. Rachis are prickly. Twigs are armed with stipular spines. Buds are small, superposed and covered with red, wooly hairs. Fruit is a reddish-brown, spice-scented capsule containing a single black seed. Bark is relatively thin, smooth, gray or brown, and becomes furrowed with age.