Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, to 10(-15) m tall. Bark gray-brownish. Branchlets of current year sparsely yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent or glabrescent; branchlets of previous year black-brownish, terete, glabrous, with sparse, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds lanceolate-triangular, with a pair of separate scales; scales sparsely yellow-brownish stellate pubescent or glabrescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green, slender, 2.5-5 cm, sparsely pubescent; leaf blade yellowish green when young, elliptic-oblong to obovate-oblong, 10-18(-25) cm, thickly papery, abaxially sparsely pubescent on midvein and lateral veins, with or without glandular spots, adaxially lustrous, sparsely pubescent only on midvein, or stellate-pubescent or forklike pubescent throughout, with or without raised dots, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 5-7-jugate, pinnate, arched, rarely branched, anastomosing near margin, conspicuously raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, conspicuously raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, not lobed, base cuneate to obtuse, with 0 or 1 circular gland on both sides of midvein near base, margin entire, slightly involute when dry, apex abruptly and shortly acuminate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, terminal, ca. 9 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 4 or 5 rays, 2-3 cm, lax, sparsely yellow-brown stellate-pubescent, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 1.5-3 cm; bracts caducous, leaflike, yellowish green, linear-lanceolate, stellate pubescent; bracteoles scalelike. Flowers on rays from 3rd to 6th orders, not fragrant, sessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx yellowish green; tube tubular-obconical, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; lobes broadly triangular, very small, glabrous, apex rounded. Corolla white, rotate, ca. 3.5 mm in diam., glabrous; tube 1-1.5 mm; lobes spreading, orbicular-ovate, ca. 1 mm, slightly shorter than tube, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens obviously exceeding corolla, inserted at base of corolla; filaments slightly compressed, folded in bud, ca. 5 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, oblong, ca. 1 mm. Styles slightly exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, ovoid-globose, 5-7 × ca. 5 mm, base rounded, apex acute, glabrous; pyrenes broadly ellipsoid, ca. 6 × 5 mm, with 2 dorsal grooves and 3 ventral grooves, apex rounded. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Aug-Oct.
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