Shrubs dioecious, 1-3 m tall, vegetative parts villous. Branchlets later glabrescent, unarmed. Buds brown, ovoid to narrowly so, 4-7 mm, apex acute. Petiole 1.5-3 cm, sometimes sparsely stalked glandular; leaf blade broadly ovate to suborbicular, 2.5-5 cm, more densely villous along veins abaxially, base truncate to shallowly cordate; lobes 3-5, margin deeply acutely serrate or doubly serrate, apex acuminate; terminal lobe rhombic-ovate, much longer than ovate-triangular lateral ones. Male racemes lax, 6-7 cm, 10-15-flowered, female ones dense, shorter; rachis pubescent; bracts elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 6-8 mm, pubescent. Pedicel 2-4 mm, pubescent, sometimes sparsely glandular hairy. Calyx red, villous; tube cupular; lobes erect, ovate to obovate, 2.5-3.5 mm. Petals red, subflabellate. Stamens slightly longer than petals; filaments shorter than anthers in female flowers. Ovary densely villous and glandular hairy. Style 2-lobed at apex. Fruit reddish brown, globose, 0.4-0.6 cm, villous and stalked glandular. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Aug.

* Forest margins, thickets on shady slopes, rocks; 1400-2100 m. W Hubei (Badong Xian), S Shaanxi (Pingli Xian), Sichuan.