Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, 2–10 m tall, glabrous, rarely twigs and petioles pubescent. Twigs angled; bud scales inconspicuous. Leaves scattered; petiole 3–7 mm; leaf blade ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 5.5–12.5 × 2–5 cm, secondary veins 6 or 7 pairs, ascending, fine veins slightly raised abaxially, ± flat adaxially, base cuneate or broadly cuneate, margin plane, shallowly serrate, apex falciform-acuminate. Inflorescences racemose, 4–10 cm, 10–15-flowered; bracts caducous, lanceolate, 5–6 mm. Pedicel 4–5 mm. Hypanthium ca. 1 mm, glabrous; calyx lobes triangular-lanceolate, ca. 1.2 mm, margin glandular fimbriate. Corolla white or tinged with pink, tubular, 7–8 mm; lobes erect or reflexed, ca. 0.7 mm. Filaments ca. 1.8 mm, hairy; anthers ca. 2.5 mm, with 2 inconspicuous spurs; tubules ca. as long as thecae. Berry 10-pseudoloculed, purple, globose, 6–7 mm in diam. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jun–Sep.

This species differs from Vaccinium mandarinorum by having the leaf blade falciform-acuminate at the apex, calyx lobes triangular-lanceolate with a glandular fimbrillate margin, and corolla tubular, 7–8 mm.

One of us (Stevens) questions whether Vaccinium harmandianum is the same as V. sprengelii (G. Don) Sleumer.

Evergreen forests; (800–)1000–1600 m. S Yunnan [Cambodia, Laos].