Shrubs or small trees, deciduous, to 4 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year densely yellow-brown stellate-pubescent or glabrous; branchlets of previous year gray-black, terete, glabrous, with sparse, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales yellow-brown stellate-pubescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green, slender, 5-15 mm, sparsely or densely stellate-pubescent; leaf blade green when young, ovate, 5-10 × 3-5 cm, thickly papery, abaxially sparsely adpressed hairy on midvein and lateral veins, sparsely stellate-pubescent in vein axils, adaxially shiny, sparsely adpressed hairy only on midvein, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 7- or 8-jugate, pinnate, straight or slightly arched, rarely branched, ending in teeth, conspicuously raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, not lobed, base rounded or slightly cordate, with 0 or 1 circular gland on both sides of midvein near base, margin serrate except at base, apex abruptly caudate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, at apices of short lateral branchlets, with a pair of leaves, 3-4 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 4 or 5 rays, dense, sparsely or densely stellate-pubescent, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncle 1-1.5 cm; bracts and bracteoles deciduous, leaflike, green, lanceolate, hairy. Flowers on rays of 2nd order, not fragrant, shortly pedicellate. Calyx yellowish green; tube tubular, ca. 1.5 mm, stellate-pubescent or glabrous; lobes broadly ovate, ca. 0.5 mm, ciliolate, apex obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, ca. 4.5 mm in diam., glabrous; tube ca. 1 mm; lobes spreading, obovate, ca. 1.5 mm, exceeding tube, apex rounded, margin slightly erose. Stamens equaling or slightly longer than corolla, inserted at base of corolla; filaments ca. 2.5 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, elliptic-ovoid, ca. 0.7 mm. Styles exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, ovoid, ca. 8 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, oblong-ovoid, ca. 6 mm, with 2 shallow dorsal grooves and 3 shallow ventral grooves, apex rounded. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Aug-Oct.

● Forests, scrub; 100-1100 m. N Fujian, N Guangdong, Guangxi, S Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, S Zhejiang.