Shrubs 1–3 m tall. Branchlets brownish to purplish brown, terete, densely slender pubescent, glabrescent, with sparse, curved prickles. Leaves imparipinnate, (5–)7–9(–11)-foliolate; petiole 3–6 cm, petiolule of terminal leaflet 1–2 cm, lateral leaflets subsessile, petiolules and rachis slender pubescent, with sparse, curved minute prickles; stipules linear or linear-lanceolate, 5–7 mm, slender pubescent; blade of leaflets ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 4–7 × 2–4 cm, abaxially pubescent only along veins, adaxially soft hairy when young, glabrescent, base broadly cuneate to rounded, margin coarsely sharp doubly serrate or incised-doubly serrate, often pinnate-lobed on terminal leaflet, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, corymbose or short racemes, 3–4.5 cm, terminal ones more than 10-flowered, axillary ones 3–5-flowered, rarely flowers solitary in leaf axils; rachis and pedicels finely pubescent; bracts linear or linear-lanceolate, 4–6 mm, puberulous. Pedicel 0.7–1.5 cm. Flowers 1–1.5 cm in diam. Calyx brownish purple, abaxially finely pubescent; sepals reflexed in fruit, ovate or triangular-lanceolate, 4–7 mm, margin tomentose, apex acute to acuminate. Petals pink or purplish red, obovate or suborbicular, 4–6 × 3–4(–5) mm, base shortly clawed and finely pubescent. Stamens many, shorter than petals; filaments linear. Pistils numerous, somewhat shorter than or nearly as long as stamens; ovary and base of style densely gray tomentose. Aggregate fruit yellowish red when immature, purplish red at maturity, semiglobose, 0.8–1.2 cm in diam., densely shortly gray tomentose; pyrenes rugulose. F1. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.

Thickets on slopes, forests, forest margins; 1300--2500 m. W Sichuan, SE Xizang, N Yunnan.