The trunk is usually smooth and some shade of grey or greyish brown, and the small twigs are densely covered with reddish-brown hairs when young.

The leaflets are linear or oblong and up to 7 by 4 cm (2.8 by 1.6 in), with stalked and wedge-shaped bases and rounded apexes.

The inflorescence is a dense hairy spike up to 10 cm (4 in) long at the tip of the twig or in a leaf axil.

[2] Newtonia paucijuga is native to East Africa, where its range extends from southeastern Kenya to southern Tanzania.

[2] This tree is fairly common in suitable habitat in East Africa, for example in the Shimba Hills in Kenya, but it has a limited range, being only found in fragments of coastal and gallery forest, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as "vulnerable".