Hydrangea kwangtungensis var. elliptica Chun; H. scandens (Linnaeus f.) Seringe subsp. kwangtungensis (Merrill) E. M. McClintock; H. shaochingii Chun.

Shrubs 1-2 m tall. Branchlets brown to red-brown, terete, densely translucent yellow-green villous, glabrescent. Petiole 4-13 mm, villous; leaf blade abaxially gray-green, adaxially dark yellow-green, oblong to elliptic, 5-13.5 × 1.5-4 cm, thinly papery to submembranous, both surfaces densely villous or adaxially glabrous, secondary veins 6 or 7 on both sides of midvein, abaxially slightly elevated, base cuneate to obtuse, margin sparsely serrate to serrulate or sometimes subentire, apex caudate-acuminate. Inflorescences terminal, corymbose cymes, ca. 8 cm wide, apex slightly arcuate or truncate. Sterile flowers absent. Fertile flowers with pedicel slender. Calyx tube shallowly cupular, 0.5-1 mm, pilose; teeth oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 1.4-2 mm, abaxially sparsely villous, apex subacute. Petals white, elliptic to oblanceolate, 2.5-4 × 1-1.4 mm, base with a claw 0.5-1 mm, apex obtuse to acuminate. Stamens 10, unequal or subequal, 1.5-3 mm; anthers broadly oblong, less than 1 mm. Ovary 1/2 or more superior. Styles 3 or 4, erect or slightly spreading, 1.5-2 mm in fruit; stigmas enlarged or not, slightly decurrent along styles adaxially. Capsule subglobose, 3-3.5 mm in diam., projected apical part 1.5-1.7 mm, equaling calyx tube. Seeds yellow, ellipsoid, wingless; seed coat net veined. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Nov.

* Dense to sparse forests in valleys, on mountain tops, or along streams; 700-1100 m. NE Guangdong, SW Guangxi, S Jiangxi.