Shrubs scandent, to 3 m tall. Branchlets brownish to reddish brown, terete, yellowish gray tomentose-villous, gradually glabrescent, with sparse, minute prickles. Leaves simple; petiole 2–4 cm, yellowish gray or gray tomentose-villous, usually unarmed; stipules oblong or ovate-lanceolate, to 8–11 mm, villous, margin laciniate lobed above middle, lobes linear; blade ovate to narrowly ovate, 9–15 × 6–10 cm, lateral veins 5–7 pairs, abaxially densely yellowish gray to gray tomentose, villous along veins or glabrescent, adaxially villous, more densely so along veins, base cordate, margin undulate or inconspicuously lobed, irregularly coarsely serrate to doubly serrate, apex acuminate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, terminal ones cymose panicles, laxly spreading, 10–24 cm, axillary inflorescences smaller, subracemes; rachis and pedicels yellowish gray or gray tomentose-villous; bracts elliptic or oblong to lanceolate, 7–9 mm, villous, apex lobed or not divided. Pedicel to 1.5 cm. Flowers to 1.8 cm in diam. Calyx abaxially tomentose and villous; sepals ovate to lanceolate, 5–7 × 2–4 mm, apex acute to caudate-acuminate, outer sepals lobed, inner sepals entire. Petals white to yellowish white, oblong, 6–8 mm in diam. Stamens many, shorter than petals; filaments linear, glabrous. Pistils longer than stamens, glabrous. Aggregate fruit dark red to blackish purple, globose, glabrous; pyrenes distinctly rugose. Fl. Jun–Aug, fr. Sep–Oct.

Forests, ravines, stream sides; 1500--3200 m. Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Kashmir, Nepal, Sikkim].