Leaves dark green above, densely white, velvety tomentose beneath, ovate rarely elliptic, crenate or entire, coriaceous. Fruit black with raised longitudinal lines.

Fl. Per.: July-September.

Holotype: Jhelum. Aitchison 393 (K).

Distribution: Pakistan, Afghanistan, N.W. India.

Sageretia thea (Osbeck) M.C. Johnston is a highly polymorphic species with a disjunct distribution, and unless all the specimens are studied from the entire range of its distribution, one is easily mislead in a taxonomic assessment. There seems to be a continuous variation in the degree of pubescence and from crenulate to entire leaf margin in our plants. However, glabrous forms with crenulate to entire margin (type variety) seem to be distributed in a wider range while densely tomentose leaves with minutely serrate margin appear to be confined to Pakistan, Afghanistan and N.W. India only. But no geographical isolation occurs between the two forms and both overlap in northern regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Moreover intermediates between the two forms are quite frequent specially in leaf character. Therefore S. branderthiana (the pubescent form), does not deserve more than a varietal rank of S. thea (Osbeck) M.C. Johnston.