Trees evergreen, 10–20 m tall. Branchlets dark purplish brown to grayish black, glabrous, with yellowish brown suborbicular lenticels; buds ovoid, 2.5–4 mm, apex shortly acuminate or acute; scales several, dark brown, puberulous when young, glabrous when old. Petiole 1–2.5(–3) cm, glabrous, with many glands, sometimes with teeth; leaf blade oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 7–13 × 3–5 cm, leathery, veins 13–15 pairs, both surfaces glabrous, rarely slightly pilose when young, soon glabrescent, abaxially with black glands, adaxially lustrous, base rounded to cuneate, margin densely minutely sharply serrate or doubly serrate, apex acuminate or acute. Compound corymbs terminal, 8–11 × 12–16 cm, compact, many flowered; rachis and pedicels slightly villous; bracts caducous, lanceolate or linear, 2–4 mm, somewhat villous, later glabrous. Pedicel 4–8 mm. Flowers 7–8 mm in diam. Hypanthium cupular, 2–2.5 mm, abaxially glabrous or initially villous, glabrescent. Sepals triangular, 1–2 mm, apex acuminate or acute. Petals white, obovate, 3–4.5 mm, base tomentose, apex obtuse. Stamens 20, slightly shorter than or nearly as long as petals. Ovary pubescent apically; styles 2(or 3), connate basally, somewhat not exceeding stamens. Fruit red, ellipsoid, 7–11 × 4–7 mm, glabrous, with 2(or 3) seeds. Fl. Mar–Apr, fr. Oct–Nov.

Hills, slopes, stream sides, forests, bamboo forests by roadsides; 200--1700 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam].