Shrubs 1.5-2 m tall. Branchlets terete, pubescent. Petiole 3-5 cm; leaf blade oblong-elliptic to -lanceolate, 20-25 × 8-10 cm, papery, abaxially crisped pubescent especially along veins, adaxially sparsely crisped pubescent and hirsute, secondary veins 8-10 on both sides of midvein, abaxially elevated, tertiary veins sparse, base broadly cuneate, margin serrulate, apex shortly acuminate. Inflorescence a corymbose panicle, 10-20 × 3-5 cm, densely crisped pubescent, many flowered. Flower buds subglobose; pedicel 3-5 mm. Calyx tube cupular, sparsely crisped pubescent; lobes 5, deltoid, ca. 1 mm, glabrous. Petals 5, blue or white, ovate-oblong to -lanceolate, ca. 2 mm, glabrous, margin reflexed at maturity, apex acute. Stamens 10; filaments subulate, ca. 2 mm; anthers ovoid, ca. 2 mm. Ovary semi-inferior, 4-loculed. Styles (2 or)3(or 4), ca. 2 mm, villous; stigmas subglobose. Berry dark blue when mature, globose, ca. 5 mm in diam. Seeds brownish, obliquely ovoid-globose, less than 1 mm. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Aug.

Although one of the present authors (Huang) considers Dichroa yunnanensis to be a distinct species, Bartholomew feels that additional study is needed to determine if it is really distinct from D. febrifuga.

* Forests; ca. 2000 m. Yunnan.