Shrubs scandent, to 2 m tall. Branchlets brown to dark reddish brown, rust colored tomentose, with sparse, minute prickles. Leaves simple; petiole 2.5–5 cm, tomentose-villous, with sparse, minute prickles; stipules broadly obovate, 1–1.4(–2.5) × 0.9–1.3 cm, villous, margin pectinately or irregularly palmately lobed, lobes lanceolate or linear-lanceolate; blade narrowly or broadly ovate to suborbicular, 7–14(–20) × 5–11(–19) cm, abaxially rust colored tomentose, with long hairs along veins, adaxially glabrous or sparsely soft hairy along veins, prominently rugose, base cordate, margin 3–5(–7)-lobed or -parted; terminal lobe longer, larger, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, much longer than or nearly as long as lateral lobes, margin unevenly coarsely serrate to doubly serrate, apex obtuse or acute. Inflorescences terminal, short subracemes, 5–8 cm, or flowers several in clusters in leaf axils; rachis and pedicels rusty villous; bracts obovate, 6–12 × 7–11 mm, villous, pectinately or palmately lobed; lobes linear or linear-lanceolate. Pedicel 3–6 mm. Flowers 1–1.5 cm in diam. Calyx abaxially densely rusty villous; sepals ovate-orbicular or ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 6–8 × 4–7 mm, outer sepals apically often palmately lobed; lobes lanceolate, inner sepals entire, margin tomentose. Petals white, oblong to suborbicular, nearly as long as sepals, glabrous, base shortly clawed. Stamens shorter than petals; filaments broad, complanate; anthers glabrous or apically hairy. Pistils longer than stamens, glabrous. Aggregate fruit dark red, subglobose, 7–10 mm in diam.; pyrenes rugose. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.

Mountainous regions, slopes, sparse forests, thickets, valleys, stream sides, moist places, near water courses; 300--1500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.