Gardneria chinensis Nakai; G. hongkongensis Hayata; G. nutans Siebold & Zuccarini f. multiflora (Makino) Matsuda; G. shimadai Hayata; Marlea cavaleriei H. Léveillé; Paederia bodinieri H. Léveillé; Pseudogardneria multiflora (Makino) Pampanini; Rhamnus pasteurii H. Léveillé; Sabia esquirolii H. Léveillé.

Lianas or scandent shrubs, to 8 m, glabrous. Branchlets terete, with prominent leaf scars. Petiole 1--1.5 cm; leaf blade elliptic to narrowly elliptic, sometimes ovate to very narrowly elliptic, 5--15 X 2--6 cm, papery to thinly leathery, base obtuse to rounded, apex acuminate, lateral veins 6--10 pairs. Cymes 3-branched, 2--4 cm, many-flowered; bracteoles 2 per flower. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicel 5--10 mm. Sepals suborbicular, 1--1.5 mm in diam., ciliate. Corolla yellow to yellow-white, tube short; lobes narrowly to very narrowly elliptic, 5--6 X 1--1.5 mm, thick, fleshy, spreading. Stamens inserted near base of corolla tube; filaments short; anthers oblong, ca. 2.5 mm, 4-locular, loosely connivent. Ovary with 1 ovule per locule. Berries 6--8 mm in diam., blackish when ripe. Seeds black, orbicular. Fl. Mar-Jul.

Medicinal.

Dense forests, scrub; 300--2100 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan].