Shrubs or trees deciduous, 0.6-10 m tall. Bark longitudinally striate when old. Branches slender, golden velvety, or with pilose hairs gradually deciduous when old. Leaves alternate; petiole 0.4-1.5 cm, densely or sparsely brownish yellow tomentose or glabrous, with 2 glands at apex; leaf blade oblong to elliptic, ovate or broadly so, or obovate, 1.5-6.5(-11) × 1.2-4.5(-6.5) cm, 1-2 × as long as wide, papery, abaxially densely yellow or brown appressed sericeous, glabrescent, glabrous except hairy on veins and margin, or if sparsely hairy then not appressed sericeous, adaxially tomentose to ± glabrous, or both surfaces glabrous, base cordate, truncate, rounded, obtuse, or cuneate, apex retuse, rounded, or obtuse, mucronate; lateral veins in 5-15 pairs. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, simple spikes, 2.5-10(-12) cm; axis hairy. Calyx tube distally cupular or salverform, 4-5 mm, abaxially villous, or densely yellowish long hairy on ovary and with fewer hairs on cupular part, adaxially long hairy or yellow pappose; lobes 5. Stamens 10, exserted, 4-5 mm. Fruit usually not stipitate, obovoid or broadly cylindric, deltoid in transverse section, 3-winged, 0.5-1 × 0.3-0.7 cm, yellowish brown (rarely white) tomentose or villous, usually densely so, or shortly and rather sparsely whitish pubescent, base obtuse, apex acute or acuminate; stipe rarely present (?in Thailand only) and then to 6 mm. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. May-Dec.

Mixed forests, scattered forests, dry scrub forests, thickets, open thickets, thicket margins, scrub, open stony hills, slopes, dry river valleys, stony river deposits, cliff ledges, open dry places; (1000-)1100-3700 m. NW Guangxi, SW Sichuan, SE Xizang, Yunnan [N Thailand].