Shrub to small tree (3-6m), found in bushveld, on rocky hillsides. It is erect, with a pagoda-like growth form, the branches growing in horizontal layers. The bark of young trees is finely fissured, revealing orange underbark. The wood is brown, fairly heavy and hard with a coarse grain.

The foliage turns a delicate mixture of pink and yellow in autumn. Leaves are often egg-shaped (19-60mm long and 8-50mm broad), softly velvety when young, smoother when mature, and the undersides with conspicuously raised veins.

The flowers are white with a strong, unpleasant scent; flowering time is from October to February. The fruits are flat, with two wings, and a dark pink or maroon centre. This hue diffuses towards the wings when the fruit matures in late autumn, as the leaves change colour. On any one tree, large numbers of fruit will grow orientated in the same direction, so that when they catch the sun the colours are intensified.