Rhus saeneb Forsskål, Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. 206. 1775; Boehmeria salicifolia D. Don; Debregeasia bicolor (Roxb.) Weddell; D. salicifolia (D. Don) Rendle; Urtica bicolor Roxburgh.

Shrubs or small trees 2-5 m tall, often dioecious. Branches dark purplish, young branchlets and petioles sparsely spreading hirtellous and mixed snow white tomentose. Stipules oblong-lanceolate, 6-10 mm, 2-cleft at apex, tomentose along veins abaxially; petiole 0.5-3 cm; leaf blade adaxially green, oblong to linear-lanceolate, sometimes linear, 5-15 × 1.5-4 cm, thinly papery or papery, 3-veined, lateral ones straight, reaching to middle, secondary veins 4-6 on each side from middle of leaf, anastomosing at margin, abaxial surface thickly snow-white tomentose, fine veins invisible, sometimes sparsely appressed pubescent on main and secondary veins, adaxial surface sparsely appressed strigose, sometimes rugose, base rounded, margin finely serrulate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences borne always on previous years’ branches, often flowering before leaf flush, 1-2-dichotomously branched or solitary, 0.5-1 cm; peduncle 0-0.5 cm, appressed pubescent; glomerules globose, 4-6 mm in diam.; bracts obovate, ca. 2.5 mm, membranous. Male flowers shortly pedicellate, flattened in bud, 1.2-1.5 mm in diam.; perianth lobes (3 or)4, triangular-ovate, densely white tomentose abaxially, connate at base, apex acute; rudimentary ovary sessile, obovoid, ca. 0.5 mm. Female flowers sessile, obovoid, ca. 0.7 mm; perianth tube membranous, glabrous, 4-denticulate at apex. Achene orange, ca. 1 mm, stipitate at base, enclosed by fleshy perianth and adnate to it. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. May-Jul.

Shady, moist places by streams, forests in mountain valleys; 1700-2300 m. SW Xinjiang, S Xizang [Afghanistan, Kashmir, Nepal; Iran, Yemen, Ethiopia].