Shrubs or trees, to 10(-15) m tall. Young branchlets black-brown or black-green, densely pubescent; old branchlets striate, glabrescent or glabrous. Petiole 1-1.7 cm, sulcate adaxially, pubescent; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially olive green, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 10-15(-19) × 4.5-8 cm, papery, abaxially densely pubescent and glandular punctate, more densely so along veins, or barbellate only at vein axils, adaxially sparsely puberulous or glabrous, midvein and secondary veins raised abaxially, secondary veins in 6-11 pairs, arcuate ascending, connected near margin, tertiary veins parallel, base rounded or obtuse, margin serrulate to subentire, apex obtuse to shortly acuminate. Racemes axillary, usually 3- or 4-fascicled, 4-7(-8) × ca. 1 cm; rachis densely villous. Pedicel ca. 2 mm, densely villous. Calyx cupular, villous; lobes triangular-lanceolate, ca. 1/2 as long as petals. Petals erect at anthesis, white, lanceolate, 2.5-4 mm, pubescent. Stamens subequaling or longer than petals, 4-5 mm; filaments villous at base. Ovary semi-inferior, puberulous. Capsule ca. 8 mm, puberulous, dehiscing from base when ripe. Fl. Mar-May, fr. May-Dec.

This species is distinguished from Itea chinensis by having leaf blades abaxially densely pubescent or at least barbellate at vein axils (vs. glabrous), with secondary veins in 6-11 (vs. 4 or 5) pairs.

Dense or sparse forests, forest margins, thickets, streamsides, roadsides; 200-2100 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan [Vietnam].