Dwarf shrublet or suffrutex, growing from a large woody rootstock. Leaves mostly compound with 2 to 4 pairs of leaflets or rarely simple (see image 5), densely covered in silvery hairs when young (image 3). Flowers in erect spikes near the ground, small, yellowish, tinged with red. Fruit a red fleshy drupe tipped with 3 to 4 pointed remains of the styles. Flowers and fruits normally appear before the leaves and are conspicuous on burnt ground. The pulp of the grape-like fruits is eaten but the skins are discarded. A root extract is used as a remedy for diarrhoea.