Rhamnus prinoides may be a small tree (SA Tree List No. 452).  It may also scramble in evergreen forest and bushveld. The leaves are spirally arranged, shaped elliptically. The upper leaf surface is conspicuously shiny, glossy green with distinct net-veining. The leaves are finely toothed or scalloped along the upper parts. The flowers are small and greenish, growing in axillary clusters in spring and summer. The fruits are ovoid, red and later black, growing on slender stalks (Coates Palgrave, 2002).