Croton chinensis Bentham (1861), not Geiseler (1807); C. kroneanus Miquel; C. tomentosus (Loureiro) Müller Argoviensis (1865), not Link (1822); Tridesmis hispida Loureiro (1790), not Croton hispidus Kunth (1817); T. tomentosa Loureiro.

Shrubs 20-50 cm tall; indumentum stellate-tomentose; older branches subglabrous. Stipules subulate, 2-3 mm, caducous. Petiole 2-4 cm, apex or base of midrib with 2 stalked and cupular glands; leaf blade ovate, ovate-elliptic, or oblong, 4-10 × 2-6 cm, adaxial hairs gradually deciduous, but persistent hairs rugged, base rotund to slightly cordate, margins obscurely serrulate, sometimes glandular between teeth, apex obtuse to shortly acuminate; basal veins 3(-5), lateral veins (3 or)4 or 5. Inflorescence terminal, 5-10 cm; bracts linear, 2-4 mm, margins linear-lacerate, glandular-serrate. Male flowers: sepals ca. 2.5 × 1.5 mm, stellate-tomentose outside; petals oblong, about as long as sepals, margins woolly; stamens 14-20. Female flowers: se pals as in male; ovary densely yellow-tomentose; styles 4- parted, lobes linear. Capsule subglobose, ca. 1 cm in diam. Seeds ellipsoidal, brown, ca. 5 mm. Fl. Nov-Jun, fr. Feb-Sep.

The roots are used medicinally.

Scrubby slopes, wastelands, hillside thickets; 100-800 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan [Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].