Holostemma sinense Hemsley, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 26: 103. 1889; Aphanostelma chinensis Schlechter ex H. Léveillé; Metaplexis japonica (Thunberg) Makino var. platyloba Handel-Mazzetti; M. rostellata Turczaninow; M. sinensis (Hemsley) Hu.

Lianas to 5 m. Stems slender pubescent along 1 line, densely pubescent at nodes. Petiole to 5 cm; leaf blade deep green adaxially, glaucous abaxially, ovate-cordate, 5-13 × 2.5-10 cm, membranous, base cordate, basal lobes rounded, recurved, sinus 1-3 cm deep and always wide and rounded; lateral veins ca. 5 pairs. Cymes extra-axillary, racemelike, rachis usually simple, 6-16-flowered; peduncle 4-6 cm. Pedicel 5-10 mm, puberulent. Flower buds broadly ovate, apex obtuse or rounded. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, half as long as corolla. Corolla 0.9-1.2 cm in diam.; lobes broadly oblong, ca. 5 mm, glabrous. Stigma head narrowly conical, usually just exserted from anther appendages. Follicles oblong, 7-8 × ca. 2 cm, pubescent and muricate or rugose. Seeds ovate, ca. 6 × 4 mm, marginate, denticulate at base; coma white sericeous, ca. 3 cm. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Dec.

* Moist bushland, valleys. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.