Shrubs, deciduous, to 3.5 m tall. Bark light brown. Branchlets of current year grayish black, sparsely yellowish stellate-pubescent; branchlets of previous year red-brown, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, rounded lenticels. Winter buds ovoid-oblong, ca. 6 mm, with 2 pairs of separate scales; scales densely yellow-white pubescent. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules 2, subulate, ca. 3 mm, caducous, or absent; petiole green, slender, 1-2(-4) cm, sparsely yellowish stellate-pubescent; leaf blade green when young, obovate, orbicular-obovate, or broadly elliptic, rarely rhombic-elliptic, 6-10(-12) × 3-6 cm, papery, abaxially sparsely adpressed long hairy on midvein and lateral veins and sparsely stellate-pubescent in vein axils, adaxially shiny, often stiffly hairy on midvein, later subglabrous, midvein raised abaxially, lateral veins 6-or 7-jugate, pinnate, straight or slightly arched, branched, ending in teeth, conspicuously raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, not lobed, base rounded, shallowly cordate, or broadly cuneate, with 0 or 1 circular gland on both sides of midvein near base, margin denticulate, apex often abruptly and shortly acuminate. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence a compound umbel-like cyme, at apices of short branchlets with 1 pair of leaves, ca. 5 cm in diam.; rays whorled; first node of inflorescence usually with 5 rays, dense, with dispersed small glandular dots, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 1.5-3 cm, slender; bracts and bracteoles deciduous, leaflike, green, lanceolate, glabrous. Flowers on rays of 2nd and 3rd orders, not fragrant, shortly pedicellate or sessile. Calyx green; tube tubular-obconical, ca. 1.5 mm, sparsely stellate-pubescent or glabrous; lobes broadly ovate, ca. 1.5 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse. Corolla white, rotate, ca. 5 mm in diam., glabrous; tube 1-2 mm; lobes spreading, broadly ovate, slightly exceeding tube, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens exceeding or slightly shorter than corolla, inserted at base of corolla; filaments ca. 4 mm; anthers yellow-whitish, broadly elliptic, ca. 1 mm. Styles exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate. Fruit initially turning dark purple-red, maturing black, shiny, ellipsoid, 8-10 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ovoid, ca. 8 × 6 mm, longitudinally raised on ventral side, apex rounded. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Sep-Oct.
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