Itea chinensis Hooker & Arnott var. subserrata Maximowicz; I. formosana H. L. Li.

Shrubs or rarely small trees, evergreen. Branchlets stout, young ones sparsely pilose, old ones glabrous. Petiole 5-10 mm, glabrous; leaf blade ovate to ovate-elliptic, 6-9 × 3.5-5.5 cm, thickly leathery, both surfaces glabrous, midvein raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, secondary veins in 5-7 pairs, arcuate ascending, reticulate veins prominent, base obtuse or cuneate, margin remotely 2-10-dentate on both sides, apex shortly acute or acuminate, rarely obtuse. Racemes axillary or terminal, 3-5 cm, often pubescent; bracts 1-2 mm. Flowers numerous, solitary or 2-clustered; pedicel spreading, 2-4 mm, puberulous. Calyx shallowly cupular; lobes triangular-lanceolate, ca. 1/2 as long as petals. Petals white, lanceolate, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm. Stamens longer than petals; filaments hairy; anthers ellipsoid-globose. Ovary superior, puberulous. Capsule conical, 5-6 mm, slightly pubescent, with persistent sepals at base. 2n = 22.

The wood is hard and slightly peach-colored and is used for making furniture.

Thickets, valleys; 300-500 m. N Taiwan (Taibei) [Japan (Ryukyu Islands)].