Wikstroemia villosa, a member of the Thymelaceae (akia) family, is a tree 3 to 4.5 m (9 to 14 ft) tall. Young branches are covered in soft yellow hairs (silky pubescent). Leaves are dark green on the upper surface, papery (chartaceous), and broadly elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 8 to 13 cm (3 to 5 in) long and 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) wide, with long, soft hairs either matted (tomentose) or shaggy (villous), sometimes becoming smooth. The yellow flowers are dioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants, or when both occur on the same plant, one sex is non-functional. Orange-colored fruits are 10 to 13 mm (0.4 to 0.5 in) long and about 7 mm (0.3 in) in diameter.