Shrubs, deciduous, to 2 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year green-brown, later gray-brown, glabrous; branchlets of previous year gray-brownish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid, with a pair of connate scales; scales glabrous. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules 2, subulate; petiole green, slender, 0.5-2(-2.5) cm, sparsely pubescent, glabrescent; leaf blade green when young, suborbicular or broadly ovate, 3-13 × 2-10 cm, papery, abaxially with minute glandular dots and yellowish pubescent on veins and in vein axils, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent when young, glabrescent, midvein raised abaxially, 3-5-palmatinerved, veins straight or slightly arched, branched, ending in teeth, conspicuously raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, 3(-5)-lobed, leaves at apices of branches sometimes undivided, base rounded, truncate, or shallowly cordate, with 1 gland on each side near petiole, margin irregularly dentate, apices of lobes acute. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, at apices of short branchlets, with a pair of leaves, 2-4 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 5-7 rays, dense, 5-30-flowered, glabrous, often minutely gland-dotted, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncle 1.5-4 cm, slender; bracts and bracteoles deciduous, leaflike, green, linear-lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers on rays of 1st order, not fragrant, very shortly pedicellate. Calyx green; tube obconical, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; lobes triangular, ca. 0.6 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, 6-8 mm in diam., glabrous; tube ca. 1.2 mm; lobes spreading, ovate to elliptic, 2.5-3 mm, exceeding tube, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens shorter than corolla, inserted near base of corolla; filaments 1-1.3 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, elliptic, 0.6-0.8 mm. Styles slightly exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas 2-lobed. Fruit maturing yellow-red or dark red, subellipsoid, 7-11 × 5-7 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes ovoid-oblong, ca. 7 × 5.5 mm, with 2 shallow dorsal grooves and 1 broad ventral groove, apex rounded. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Sep.
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