This tree was doubtless introduced to Hawaii from South America. There are only two specimens of its kind growing in Honolulu. Its fruits are edible, but not especially palatable. It is a small tree having terete branches, and its opposite leaves are oblong-elliptical, dark-green above and a lighter, somewhat glossy-green beneath. The petioles are short. The axillary inflorescence comes in long, slender cymes, and the five-petaled flowers are yellow. When ripe, the obovate fruit is a purplish-yellow, having usually two seeds, and but one seed when abortive.