tree, usually 8 - 12 m in height, but can reach up to 15 m with a large, dense, rounded canopy. It has small, leathery, dark-green leaves with a glaucous, densely pubescent underside usually suborbicular to elliptical or lanceolate and are generally spiny to dentate on a younger tree. It has a semi-hemispheric cupule.

It flowers from February to April. Seedlings will start flowering at about eight years old, but