Clethra brammeriana Handel-Mazzetti; C. kaipoensis var. paucinervis L. C. Hu; Clethra kaipoensis var. polyneura (H. L. Li) W. P. Fang & L. C. Hu; C. kwangsiensis S. Y. Hu; C. pinfaensis H. Léveillé; C. polyneura H. L. Li.

Trees or shrubs, 1–18 m tall, deciduous. Petiole 0.8–3.8 cm; leaf blade elliptic, oblanceolate, oblong-oblanceolate, or sometimes ovate to lanceolate-ovate, basal 1/2 often ± straight-sided, 8.4–22.6 × 3.0–9.1 cm, papery, abaxially nearly glabrous to densely stellate-pilose or strigose especially along major veins with stellate and/or simple hairs, adaxially often pubescence on major veins and denser in secondary vein axils but glabrous elsewhere, and reticulations cinnamon brown but not raised, base broadly attenuate, obtuse, or rounded, margin serrate nearly throughout or basal 1/4 entire, teeth 30–60 or more per side on major leaves and 1–6 mm apart, apex acuminate; secondary veins (14–)16–25 on each side of midvein. Racemes or raceme branches (1–)4–8(–11) per branchlet, (10–)14–22 cm, densely rusty golden stellate-hirsute or -subvillous, thickest rachis on each twig basally 1.6–2.8 mm in diam.; bracts 3.5–11 mm, linear-subulate. Pedicel 0.6–4.5 mm at anthesis. Sepals ovate to deltoid-ovate, 3–3.8 × 1.4–1.8 mm, outside densely stellate-tomentose, midvein indistinct at anthesis, apex rounded to subacute. Petals white, 3–4.5 × 2.2–2.8 mm, outside smooth, inside glabrous, margin thickened and apically fimbriate. Stamens 3.4–5.5 mm, slightly exserted or occasionally ± equal to petal lengths; filaments glabrous or basally pilose; anthers 1.0–1.5 mm. Style 2.5–5.5 mm at anthesis, glabrous to finely and densely pilose, apex shallowly 3-lobed. Fruiting pedicel 1–10 mm. Ovary and capsule distally hirsutulous with longer hairs 0.3–0.5 mm; persistent style 4–6 mm. Fl. Jul–Aug, fr. Sep–Oct.

Dense forests on hilly slopes, along streams; (200–)1000–2100 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi.