Shrubs evergreen, rarely semievergreen, to 5 m tall, with spreading to erect branches. Branchlets reddish brown to grayish brown, initially densely tomentose, glabrescent. Petiole often red, robust, 4–5 mm, tomentose; stipules caducous, brown, linear or linear-lanceolate, 4–7 mm, membranous, tomentulose; leaf blade elliptic-oblong to ovate-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 4–8.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm, lateral veins 12–16 pairs, prominently raised abaxially and impressed adaxially, abaxially gray tomentose, with bloom, adaxially glabrous or pilose, rugose, base cuneate, margin entire, revolute or not, apex acute or acuminate. Compound corymbs 3.5–6 × 3–4 cm, many flowered; rachis and pedicels densely gray tomentose; bracts caducous, linear, 3–5 mm, tomentulose. Pedicel 2–4 mm. Flowers 5–6 mm in diam. Hypanthium campanulate, abaxially gray tomentose. Sepals triangular, 1.5–2.5 mm, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Petals spreading, white, ovate or suborbicular, 2.5–4 × 3–4 mm, glabrous, base shortly clawed, apex obtuse. Stamens 20, slightly longer than or nearly as long as petals; anthers purple. Ovary pilose apically; styles 2 or 3, free, somewhat not exceeding stamens. Fruit scarlet, subglobose, obovoid, or ovoid, 3–7 mm in diam., pyrenes 2 or 3. Fl. Jun, fr. Oct. 2n = 34*.

Mountain regions, mixed forests, slopes, open places; 400--3000 m. Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan.