Loropetalum indicum K. Y. Tong; L. subcapitatum Chun ex H. T. Chang; Tetrathyrium simaoense Y. Y. Qian.

Petals usually white or pale yellow.

Loropetalum indicum was said to have thick leaves with a 2-layered palisade tissue and well-developed cuticle, whereas L. chinense mostly has a 1-layered palisade tissue and a weaker cuticle, but these differences alone are not sufficient to distinguish species. Loropetalum subcapitatum was said to differ from L. chinense by its larger, glabrescent leaves, but the paratype of L. subcapitatum, Liang 65827 (PE), also has small leaves and the difference does not justify recognition of a separate species. Qian (Acta Bot. Yunnan. 16: 235. 1994) described Tetrathyrium simaoense with 5-merous flowers, but both 4-merous and 5-merous flowers coexist in the same inflorescences of both the holotype and an isotype as well as Qian 3288 and Chen & Feng 97040, all from Simao, Yunnan. Other characters, such as habit, leaves, and fruit, are similar in T. simaoense and L. chinense.

Forests, sunny hills; 1000--1200 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [E and N India, Japan].