Loranthus thibetensis Lecomte, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 3: 168. 1915; Taxillus thibetensis var. albus Jiarong Wu.

Shrubs 0.5-1 tall, young stems tomentose, becoming glabrous, hairs yellowish brown, more rarely white, both verticillate and stellate. Branches black, subsmooth, scattered lenticellate. Leaves opposite; petiole 8-12 mm, pilose; leaf blade ovate or ovate-oblong, 5-10 × 3-5.5 cm, leathery, abaxial surface persistently tomentose, adaxial surface rapidly glabrescent, lateral veins 5-8 pairs, base subrounded, margin entire or repand, apex obtuse or acute. Umbels 2- or 3-fascicled, sometimes at leafless nodes, 3-5-flowered; peduncle 1-2 mm, yellow-brown or brown, rarely white, tomentose; bracts ovate, ca. 1 mm, apex acute. Pedicel 2-3 mm. Calyx ellipsoid, ca. 2 mm, limb annular, entire or minutely 4-toothed. Mature bud 2.2-3.2 cm, tip ellipsoid. Corolla red, slightly curved, pilose with dense verticillate hairs, basal part inflated, lobes lanceolate, 7-8 mm, reflexed. Filaments 1.5-2 mm; anthers 3.5-4 mm, multilocellate. Stigma capitate. Berry yellowish, ovoid or ellipsoid, 5-10 × 4-6 mm, granulose, pilose. Fl. May-Sep, fr. Aug-Oct.

Recorded hosts include Castanea mollissima, Diospyros kaki, Quercus schottkyana, Q. semecarpifolia, Prunus salicina, Pyrus pyrifolia, and species of Salix. Forms with a white indumentum have been described as var. albus.

* Forests, mountain slopes, valleys, orchards, gardens; 1700-3000 m. Guizhou, SW Sichuan, SE Xizang, Yunnan.