Shrubs climbing. Branchlets dark brown, tomentose at first, gradually glabrescent, finally glabrous, with sparse, curved minute prickles. Leaves simple; petiole 3–4 cm, tomentose, sometimes glabrescent; stipules free, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 1–1.6 cm × 4–6 mm, membranous, glabrous or sparsely puberulous, usually lobed or with few teeth apically; blade 7–11 cm and ca. as broad, subleathery, abaxially densely pale rust colored tomentose, adaxially glabrous, base truncate to cordate, palmately 3-parted to 2/3; lobes elliptic or oblong, 3.5–8 × 2–4 cm, veins raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, margin with uneven coarse sharp serrations, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal, racemes; rachis and pedicels densely pubescent, with sparse, intermixed stipitate glands and with small needle-like prickles; bracts oblong or oblong-lanceolate, smaller than stipules, glabrous or slightly puberulous, margin entire or slightly lobed or with few teeth, apex acuminate. Pedicel 1–1.4 cm. Calyx densely pubescent, with sparse, glandular hairs; sepals reflexed, rarely erect in fruit, narrowly triangular or triangular-lanceolate, margin entire, apex shortly acuminate. Stamens many; filaments linear, basally broad and flat. Pistils numerous, longer than stamens; style and ovary villous. Aggregate fruit red, compressed globose, 1–1.4 cm in diam.; persistent styles villous; pyrenes slightly reticulate. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.

Thickets at mountain summits. S. Guizhou.