Shrubs scrambling, 1.5–3 m tall. Branchlets climbing, brownish to dark brown, slightly pubescent when young, later glabrous, with sparse prickles, often with stalked glands. Leaves palmately 3- or 5-foliolate; petiole 2–4 cm, sparsely pubescent, with stalked glands and minute prickles, rarely without stalked glands, leaflets sessile; stipules linear-lanceolate, 7–10 mm, puberulous, margin with shortly stalked glands, margin entire or deeply 2-laciniate; blade of leaflets rhombic-lanceolate, 3–8(–11) × 1.5–4 cm, abaxially sparsely pubescent, adaxially pilose along veins, base cuneate, margin incised coarse-doubly serrate, apex acuminate to caudate. Inflorescences terminal, corymbose, 2–3 cm, 2- or 3-flowered or with flowers solitary in leaf axils; bracts linear-lanceolate, 6–9 mm, often with stalked glands, margin entire or 2- or 3-laciniate. Pedicel 1.5–2.5 cm, glabrous, with sparse, gland-tipped hairs and small prickles. Flowers to 2 cm in diam. Calyx glabrous, abaxially glandular pubescent, with minute prickles; sepals erect, spreading, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 0.8–1.2(–3) cm × 5–8 mm, margin entire or 3-laciniate, inner sepals with tomentose margin, apex acuminate or caudate. Petals white, elliptic or oblong, much shorter than sepals, base shortly clawed. Stamens many; filaments broad. Pistils 10–15, slightly shorter than stamens; style and ovary glabrous. Aggregate fruit red or orange-red, subglobose, to 2 cm in diam., glabrous, enclosed in calyx; pyrenes reniform, to 4 mm, rugose. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jun–Jul.

Forests, forest margins on slopes, thickets, valleys, roadsides; 1300--3600 m. Guizhou, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, NW India, N Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim, Vietnam].