Shrubs. Branchlets slender; internodes short, coarsely hairy, glabrescent. Stipules lanceolate, ca. 1 cm. Petiole ca. 1 cm, pubescent; leaf blade obovate-elliptic, oblanceolate, lanceolate, or obovate, sometimes very variable, 6-15 × 2-5(-8) cm, papery to leathery, abaxially glabrous, sparsely pubescent, or densely covered with coarse hairs and pubescence, adaxially scabrid and tuberculate, base cuneate to obtuse, margin entire or with a few irregular teeth near apex, apex acute to acuminate; basal lateral veins short, secondary veins 3-18 on each side of midvein. Figs axillary on normal leafy shoots, paired or solitary, purple red with white spots when mature, ovoid, globose, or ellipsoid-globose, 0.7-1.4 × 0.7-1.2 cm, pubescent when young, apical pore navel-like, convex, bracts red; peduncle less than 1 cm; involucral bracts broadly ovate. Male flowers: pedicellate; calyx lobes 3, hairy; stamens 2-3. Gall flowers: calyx lobes 3 or 4, oblanceolate, hairy; ovary obliquely ovoid; style lateral, slightly 2-lobed. Female flowers: calyx lobes 4, apex with hairs; style persistent, lateral, long, curved. Achenes ovoid, smooth. Fl. May-Jul.

Some authors have claimed that var. gasparriniana is restricted to India, Myanmar, and Vietnam, and that Chinese material should be placed in var. viridescens. However, the Chinese material is extremely variable, and it does not seem practicable to keep var. viridescens apart from var. gasparriniana. The status of the other two varieties has been questioned, and it has been suggested that they should be given full species status.

Forests, mountains, along trails, valleys; 500-2000 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].