It is an evergreen, glabrous and dichotomously branched and about 2 to 3 cm high shrub. Leaves are glossy, rather coriaceous, glaucous, green above and pale below, elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate and acuminate or caudate. Flowers are white, often double and fragrant in few-flowered cymes. Calyx-lobes are broadly ovate, acute or rounded. Corolla lobes are obliquely ovate and obtuse and their margins are curled; corolla tube is swollen below the middle. The anthers are acuminate and are inserted below the middle of the tube. Ovary is glabrous. The fruits are rarely occurred and recurved follicles and about 2.5 to 5.0 cm long, if present. Seeds are 3 to 6, oblong and striated and are embedded in red pulpy aril.

Acrid, bitter and anodyne (root); anthelmintic (root bark); wood (refrigerant).

Ervatamine, Voacristine, Apparicine, 19,20-dihydroervahanine A, coronaridine, heyneanine, voacristine, voacamine, descarbomethoxyvoacamine, phenolic acids: vanillic, gentisic, syringic, 4-hydroxybenzoic dan salicylic acid

Roots are chewed for relief in toothache, to prevent inflammation and in the diseases of eyes (leaf juice); the juice of its flowers mixed with oil is used to alleviate burning sensation; also to cure eyesores and skin diseases.