Shrubs, ca. 3 m tall; branches somewhat flattened becoming angled and sometimes shallowly channeled, sometimes flexuous, densely hirtellous or hispidulous to strigillose or strigose. Petiole 2-12 mm, densely hirtellous to strigillose or strigose; leaf blade drying membranous or thinly papery, green to yellowish green adaxially, brown or purplish brown abaxially, oblanceolate or oblong-lanceolate to elliptic, 7-21.5 × 2-6 cm, adaxially glabrous or scaberulous to sparsely hirtellous, hispidulous, or strigillose, abaxially glabrescent or densely to sparsely hirtellous or strigillose, base cuneate or acute, apex acute to acuminate; secondary veins 12-20 pairs; stipules ovate to triangular, 4-8 mm, densely strigillose or strigose to glabrous, acute to acuminate. Inflorescences congested-cymose, 1-1.5 × 1-1.5 cm, usually 5-10-flowered, densely hirtellous to strigose or strigillose, sessile or subsessile; bracts ovate to triangular or linear, 0.5-8 mm, situated at nodes, along axes, and usually in pairs and 0.5-2.5 mm immediately below flowers. Flowers sessile to shortly pedicellate, with pedicels to 1 mm. Calyx strigillose to pilosulous; ovary portion obconic, 0.5-1.5 mm; limb 2-2.5 mm, lobed for ca. 1/2 its length; lobes triangular to linear-lanceolate, acute. Corolla white or yellowish white, funnelform to tubular, outside glabrous; tube 4-6 mm; lobes ovate, 1-2 mm. Berry globose, ca. 8 mm in diam., densely hirtellous or hispidulous to strigillose, with stipe or pedicel elongating above paired bracts, up to 12 mm; seeds reddish yellow, ca. 1.5 × 1-1.5 mm. Fl. Mar-Jun, fr. May-Mar.

These varieties were recognized by W. C. Chen in FRPS (71(1): 362. 1999); some recently collected specimens seem to be intermediate but this species is poorly documented in general, so these are treated here at least for reference.

Forests or thickets at streamsides in valleys; 400-2200 m. Xizang, Yunnan [Vietnam].