Densely branched shrub up to c. 3 m. tall, us. less; branchlets stout, not or hardly divaricate, ± densely clad when young in ferruginous to pale hairs. Lvs of juveniles entire to irregularly lobed or rarely pinnatifid. Lvs of adults (often mixed with lvs of semi-juvenile form) alt. or some in alt. fascicles on short arrested branchlets, 8-10 × 5-8 mm., on slender petioles c. 2 mm. long, coriac., elliptic-obovate to broadly elliptic, entire to obscurely sinuate-dentate. Fls axillary, solitary; sepals ovate, obtuse to acute, ciliate; petals very dark red, linear-oblong, subacute. Capsules 5-8 × 5-7 mm., ovoid to subglobose, subcordate at base, downy when young, finely to rather coarsely granulate, style base c. 2 mm. long; seeds 6-12 or reduced to c. 4 in stunted plants.

Branchlets slender; lvs c. 15-25 × 4-10 mm., elliptic to obovate-cuneate, less coriac.; sepals narrow-ovate, acuminate,. 4-5 mm. long; petals c. 1 cm. long.

2n = 24