[4] It has a gray trunk and leathery evergreen leaves sawn, with small glands in the axils of the veins.

The flowers are yellow-green, arranged in clusters, and the fruit is a globose drupe, purple-black when ripe.

[citation needed] It is an endemic species of Madeira and the Canary Islands, characteristic of the laurel forest.

It is an uncommon tree in Madeira and on the Canaries (where it's listed as Vulnerable) it is only present on Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and Gran Canaria and only commonly seen in Tenerife.

On Madeira, it occurs on mid to high altitudes, especially next to rivers, in the Canaries, it is restricted to Laurisilva forests.