Shrubs, deciduous, to 4 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year grayish green, glabrous, with dispersed lenticels; branchlets of previous year gray-brownish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid-oblong, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales brownish, oblong, ca. 7 mm, inside pubescent, apex acute. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green or reddish, robust, 7-10 mm, sparsely stellate-pubescent, subglabrescent; leaf blade purplish green when young, becoming intense green and lustrous adaxially, elliptic-oblong to narrowly oblong, sometimes orbicular-oblong or suborbicular, 3-7.5 × 2-3 cm, papery, abaxially sparsely stellate-pubescent along veins, and with pedate holes in axils of veins, adaxially glabrous, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins ca. 5-jugate, pinnate, arched, branched, ending in teeth or anastomosing near margin, slightly raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, inconspicuous on both surfaces, not lobed, base obtuse to subrounded, without glands, margin serrate except at base, apex acuminate or acute. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence paniculate, at apices of branchlets with 1-jugate leaves, 4-5 × 3-4 cm; rays opposite, decussate; first node of inflorescence with 2 rays, lax, sparsely stellate-pubescent, immediately glabrescent, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles (0.8-)2-3.5 cm; bracts and bracteoles persistent, leaflike, purple-reddish, lanceolate, conspicuous, glabrous. Flowers mostly on rays of 2nd order, not fragrant, sessile. Calyx green; tube tubular, ca. 3 mm, glabrous; lobes broadly triangular, ca. 1 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse. Corolla white and reddish, tubular-campanulate, ca. 5 mm in diam., glabrous; tube ca. 4 mm; lobes spreading, broadly ovate, ca. 2.5 mm, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens shorter than corolla, inserted at apex of corolla tube; filaments ca. 2 mm; anthers purple-brownish, oblong, ca. 1 mm, slightly exserted. Styles nearly as long as calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, ellipsoid, ca. 6 × 4 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ellipsoid, ca. 5 × 3 mm, with a broad and deep ventral groove, apex rounded. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul.
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