Shrubs deciduous, 1–2 m tall. Branchlets brownish red, terete, slender, initially grayish yellow appressed villous, soon glabrescent, glabrous when old. Petiole 3–5 mm, villous; stipules caducous or partly persistent, lanceolate, 2.5–5 mm, slightly villous; leaf blade ovate or elliptic-ovate to narrowly elliptic-ovate, 2–2.5(–3.5) × 1.2–2 cm, veins somewhat raised abaxially and slightly impressed adaxially, abaxially gray appressed tomentose, adaxially initially sparsely pilose, subglabrous when old, base broadly cuneate, apex acute or ± obtuse. Corymbs 1.5–2.5 cm, 2–4-flowered; rachis and pedicels densely appressed villous; bracts linear or linear-lanceolate, 2–4 mm, puberulous. Pedicel 1–3 mm, slender. Flowers ca. 7 mm in diam. Hypanthium densely appressed villous abaxially. Sepals ovate-triangular, ca. 1.2 mm, apex acute. Petals erect, white, ovate or suborbicular, 3–4 mm and nearly as broad, base clawed, apex obtuse. Stamens 15, shorter than petals. Ovary puberulous apically; styles 2, free, not exceeding stamens. Fruit purplish black, ovoid, 8–9 × 5–6 mm, pyrenes 1 or 2. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Sep–Oct. 2n = 68*.

Forests, rocky mountain areas; 1900--3100 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.