Caprifolium simile (Hemsley) Kuntze; Lonicera buchananii Lace; L. delavayi Franchet; L. macrantha (D. Don) Sprengel var. biflora Collett & Hemsley; L. macrantha var. heterotricha P. S. Hsu & H. J. Wang; L. macranthoides Handel-Mazzetti var. heterotricha (P. S. Hsu & H. J. Wang) B. K. Zhou; L. omeiensis (P. S. Hsu & H. J. Wang) B. K. Zhou; L. similis var. delavayi (Franchet) Rehder; L. similis var. omeiensis P. S. Hsu & H. J. Wang.

For description see under species complex. Distinguishing characters for this species are as follows: Stems with spreading, yellow-brown long stiff hairs and minute glandular hairs. Leaves abaxially white velutinous obscuring leaf surface, mixed with stiff hairs. Bracts sometimes leaflike, linear-lanceolate, 5-14 mm. Corolla sometimes less than 3 cm. Ovaries glabrous to sparsely hirsute. Berries black. Fl. May-Jun(-Jul), fr. Sep-Oct.

Streamsides in mountain valleys, scrub and forests on sunny mountain slopes; 400-1600(-2200) m. ?Anhui, S Fujian, S Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, W Hubei, W Hunan, ?Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Myanmar].