Shrubs or small trees, deciduous, to 4 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year brown, with dense, yellow-greenish, simple, long hairs; branchlets of previous year purple-brown, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales with dense, yellow-green, simple, long hairs. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules subulate, ca. 2 mm, caducous, or absent; petiole green, slender, 1-3 cm, with dense, yellow-green, simple, long hairs; leaf blade yellowish green when young, ovate, broadly ovate, obovate-orbicular, or oblong, 5-10 × 4-5.5 cm, papery, abaxially stellate-pubescent, adaxially with sparse, simple hairs, later only hairy on veins, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins (6 or)7-9-jugate, pinnate, straight or slightly arched, branched, ending in teeth, conspicuously raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, not lobed, base broadly obtuse to rounded, with 0-2 circular glands on both sides of midvein near base, margin crenate, apex abruptly narrowed and caudate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, terminal, 4-8(-14) cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence with 5-7 rays, lax, with yellow-green, simple, long hairs, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncle 1.5-4 cm; bracts and bracteoles deciduous, leaflike, green, lanceolate, hairy. Flowers on rays of 2nd and 3rd orders, not fragrant, shortly pedicellate or sessile. Calyx green; tube cylindric, ca. 2 mm, with simple hairs; lobes triangular to orbicular, ca. 0.5 mm, ciliate, apex obtuse. Corolla white or reddish, rotate, ca. 6 mm in diam., outside with simple hairs; tube ca. 2 mm; lobes spreading, ovate, ca. 3 mm, exceeding tube, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens exceeding corolla, inserted at base of corolla; filaments ca. 3 × as long as anthers; anthers yellow-whitish, elliptic, ca. 1 mm. Styles slightly exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit maturing red, ellipsoid-ovoid, 7-10 × 6-7 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ellipsoid-ovoid, ca. 7.5 × 5 mm, with 2 dorsal grooves and 3 ventral grooves, base rounded to broadly cuneate, apex acute. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.
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