Herbs perennial. Rhizomes stout. Stems erect, 50-80 cm tall, striate, appressed hispid, swollen at nodes. Petiole 1-1.5 cm, appressed hispid; leaf blade elliptic or narrowly elliptic to ovate, rarely obovate, 6-15 × 4-8 cm, both surfaces appressed hispid, base cuneate, margin entire, apex acute or acuminate; ocrea tubular, 5-10 mm, membranous, shortly ciliate. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, 15-35 cm, slender, laxly flowered; bracts funnel-shaped, 2-3 mm, ciliate, 1-3-flowered. Pedicel 3-4 mm. Perianth rose, 4-parted; tepals ovate, ca. 3 mm, accrescent. Stamens usually 5, included. Styles 2, persistent, enlarged and indurate at maturity, 3.5-4 mm, deflexed and hooked at apex, long exserted from perianth. Achenes included in persistent perianth, dark brown, shiny, ovoid, biconvex, smooth. Fl. Aug-Oct, fr. Sep-Nov.

Forests, thickets, valleys; 100-2500 m. Anhui, Fujian, S Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, S Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Russia (Far East)].