Shrubs dioecious, 1-2 m tall, spinose. Branchlets opposite or subopposite, rarely alternate, silvery-gray or gray-brown, puberulent, glabrescent, terminating in a spine; old branches gray-brown, ± longitudinally fissured, glabrous. Leaves opposite or subopposite on long shoots, fascicled on short shoots; stipules linear-subulate, ca. equal to petioles, puberulent, persistent; petiole 1-3 mm, puberulent; leaf blade abaxially pale yellow or golden-yellow when dry, adaxially gray-green, oblong or ovate-elliptic, rarely ovate, small, (0.7-)1-2.5 × 0.4-1(-1.3) cm, papery, both surfaces puberulent or subglabrous, lateral veins 3 or 4 pairs, slightly prominent abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, conspicuously reticulate abaxially, base broadly cuneate or subrounded, rarely inequilateral, margin inconspicuously crenulate, often black mucronulate, rarely subentire, apex obtuse or rounded, emarginate, rarely acute. Flowers unisexual, 4-merous. Female flowers solitary in leaf axils of short shoots, yellow-green, campanulate; sepals ovate-triangular, 1-1.5 mm, abaxially puberulent, 3-veined, apex acute; petals minute, caducous; stamens very short; ovary globose, 2- or 3-loculed; style 4-cleft. Drupe red-brown, subglobose, 3-4 mm in diam., with shallowly cup-shaped, persistent calyx tube at base, with 2(or 3) stones; fruiting pedicel 2-3 mm, puberulent. Seeds yellowish, oblong-obovoid, 3-3.5 mm, abaxially with a margined, broad, shallow furrow extending over nearly whole length. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Jul-Sep.

This species is similar to Rhamnus prostrata but differs in having branchlets opposite or subopposite, silvery-gray or gray-brown; leaves opposite or subopposite, ovate or ovate-elliptic, puberulent; flowers solitary in leaf axils of short shoots; and seeds abaxially with margined, broad, shallow furrow for almost entire length.

Material of this species was not seen by the second author.

● Thickets on subalpine slopes; 2500-3400 m. SW and W Sichuan, E Xizang.