Shrubs or small trees, to 5 m tall; young branches slender, glabrous, older growth drying gray-brown, minutely white lenticellate; buds narrowly ovoid, glabrous. Stipules purple, narrowly oblong, 12–20 mm; petiole 10–15 mm; glabrous; leaf blade obovate or broadly so, 4–9 × 2–6 cm, abaxially glabrescent, adaxially glabrous, base asymmetrical, subcordate or rounded, margin serrate, teeth obscurely mucronate, apex short acute; lateral veins 7–9 on each side, the 2 lowermost with obscure tertiary veins. Inflorescence terminal on shoots, 4–5 cm in fruit, 12–20-flowered; peduncle 1–2 cm, tomentose, with 1–3 basal leaves, basal bracts of inflorescences ovate-rounded, 1–1.5 cm, abaxially glabrous; floral bracts 6–8 × 3–4 mm; bracteoles ovate, 2–3 × 1.5- 2 mm, pubescent on both surfaces. Floral cup glabrous. Sepals ovate, 1.2–1.5 mm, glabrous, apex rounded. Petals broadly obovate, 3–4 × 2.5–3 mm, base shortly clawed. Stamens 2.5–3 mm; disk scales 2-lobed, apex acute. Ovary glabrous; styles 3–4 mm. Capsules 7–8 mm, more than 1/2 enclosed in persistent floral cup, persistent styles obliquely patent or slightly curved downward. Seeds ca. 4 mm. Fl. Mar–Jun, fr. Jun–Aug.

Forests; ca. 1200 m. W Sichuan.