Subshrubs low, 40–60 cm tall. Stems erect, brownish, woody, not branched, glabrous, rarely puberulous, with sparse, short curved prickles; flower bearing branchlets arising from creeping roots. Leaves imparipinnate, 3-foliolate; petiole 5–10 cm, petiolule of terminal leaflet to 1 cm; lateral leaflets subsessile or shortly petiolulate, puberulous, with sparse, curved prickles; stipules lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 6–9 mm, puberulent, margin entire; blade of leaflets ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 6–9.5 × 2.5–5 cm, terminal leaflet slightly longer than lateral leaflets, abaxially pilose or with sparse, minute prickles only along veins, adaxially sparsely appressed pubescent, base subrounded, margin irregularly shortly serrate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, 3- or 4-flowered, rarely flowers solitary; bracts linear to lanceolate, 5–9 mm, puberulous. Pedicel 6–12 mm, puberulous, with curved minute prickles. Flowers 1.5–2 cm in diam. Calyx abaxially with sparse, curved minute prickles, finely pubescent; sepals narrowly triangular to ovate, 6–10 × 3–5 mm, margin tomentose, apex subulate-acuminate. Petals white, obovate, 4–6 mm in diam., nearly as long as sepals, finely pubescent, base shortly clawed. Stamens many, erect, shorter than petals; filaments broad, complanate. Pistils slightly shorter than stamens; apex of ovary and base of style pubescent. Aggregate fruit orange-red, globose, 7–9 mm in diam., often glabrous, with many drupelets; pyrenes rugose. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Aug–Sep. 2n = 14*.

Slopes, roadsides, forests; 1500--2500 m. Gansu, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Sichuan.