Shrubs, evergreen, to 2 m tall. Bark gray-brownish. Branchlets of current year quadrangular, glabrous or yellow-brown adpressed pubescent; branchlets of previous year gray-brownish, slightly quadrangular, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds lanceolate, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales yellow-brown adpressed pubescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole reddish purple, slender, 4-8 mm, sparsely or densely yellow-brown adpressed pubescent; leaf blade yellowish green when young, ovate-rhombic to rhombic or elliptic-oblong, 5-7(-11) × 2-4 cm, thickly papery to thinly leathery, abaxially glabrous or stellate-pubescent in vein axils, with denser glandular dots, adaxially often with dispersed golden or dark glandular dots, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 3-5-jugate, lowest pair sometimes elongating to upper part of blade, thus appearing ± triplinerved, pinnate, arched, rarely branched, anastomosing near margin, slightly raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, inconspicuous or slightly conspicuous abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, not lobed, base cuneate, without glands, margin entire, usually remotely serrate above middle part, apex caudate-acuminate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, terminal, 1.5-2 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 4 or 5 rays, dense, sparsely or densely yellow-brown adpressed hairy and with glandular dots, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 5-18 mm; bracts and bracteoles persistent, leaflike, green, linear to linear-lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers on rays of 1st order, not fragrant, shortly pedicellate. Calyx green; tube campanulate, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; lobes ovate-triangular, very short, glabrous, apex obtuse. Corolla reddish in bud, later white, campanulate, ca. 4 mm in diam., glabrous; tube ca. 2.5 mm; lobes spreading, broadly obovate, 1-2 mm, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens slightly shorter than corolla, inserted at base of corolla; filaments ca. 2 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, broadly elliptic, ca. 1 mm. Styles slightly exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, globose, (7-) 8-9(-10) mm in diam., base rounded, apex acute, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ovoid, 5-8(-9) × 5-6 mm, without conspicuous grooves, apex acute. Fl. May, fr. Nov-Dec.
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