Shrubs scandent, 1.5–3.5 m tall. Branchlets brown to purplish brown, soft hairy when young, glabrate in age, with sparse, somewhat curved prickles. Leaves simple; petiole (0.6–)1–1.5 cm, tomentose-villous at first, later glabrate, sometimes with few small needle-like prickles; stipules caducous, brownish, linear-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, 0.8–1.4 cm, membranous, appressed pubescent when young; blade elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 5–12 × 2.5–5 cm, lateral veins 8–10 pairs, prominent abaxially, abaxially gray appressed tomentose, hairs persistent, but deciduous on fruiting branchlets, adaxially glabrous or pilose along veins, base subrounded, margin inconspicuously shallowly serrate or coarsely serrate, apex acuminate, rarely acute. Inflorescences terminal, racemes, 5–10 cm; rachis and pedicel densely tomentose-villous, gradually glabrescent, finally glabrous; bracts caducous, linear-oblong, 7–11 mm, pubescent initially, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Pedicel 1–1.5 cm. Flowers to 2.5 cm in diam. Calyx abaxially densely tomentose-villous; tube pelviform; sepals ovate to triangular-ovate or lanceolate, 8–12(–25) × 3–6 mm, margin entire, apex acuminate. Petals white or white with pink spots, obovate to suborbicular, 0.8–1.2 cm × 7–10 mm, both surfaces thinly pubescent, base shortly clawed. Stamens many; filaments subulate, broadened basally, slightly villous; anthers hirtose. Pistils much longer than stamens; ovary glabrous; styles glabrous, apex clavate. Aggregate fruit purplish black at maturity, compressed globose, glabrous, with many drupelets; pyrenes slightly rugose or somewhat smooth. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.

Slopes, ravines, stream sides, montane valleys, forests, thickets; 400--2200 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan.