Cotoneaster distichus Lange var. verruculosus (Diels) T. T. Yü; C. improvisus G. Klotz.

Shrubs deciduous or semievergreen, erect, 0.6–2 m tall. Branchlets initially dark reddish brown to grayish brown, dark gray when old, terete, initially densely yellow strigose, glabrate, conspicuously verruculose when old. Petiole 2–5 mm, pubescent; stipules persistent, lanceolate, 2–6 mm, pubescent; leaf blade suborbicular or broadly ovate to broadly obovate, 0.7–1.4 cm × 6–12 mm, both surfaces appressed pilose, glabrescent, abaxially subglabrous, base broadly cuneate or rounded, apex emarginate or partly mucronulate. Inflorescences usually 1-flowered. Flowers 7–8 mm in diam., nearly sessile. Hypanthium glabrous abaxially. Sepals ovate-triangular, 1.5–2.5 mm and ca. as broad, apex ± obtuse. Petals erect, pink, suborbicular, 4–4.5 mm in diam. Stamens 20, shorter than petals. Ovary pubescent apically; styles 2, free, not exceeding stamens. Fruit red, globose, 7–8 mm in diam., pyrenes often 2. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Sep–Oct.

Mixed forests on dry slopes, grasslands, fields, roadsides; 2800--3600 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim].