A deciduous shrub up to 6 ft high, of close bushy growth; young shoots slender, covered with starry down. Leaves ovate, mostly rounded at the base, pointed or bluntish at the apex, minutely, closely and sharply toothed, 1⁄2 to 11⁄4 in. long, half as much wide, both sides furnished with starry scales, those on the upper side four- to seven-rayed, those below five- to ten-rayed, dull green and rough to the touch; stalk 1⁄16 in. long. Flowers white, about 1⁄2 in. wide, produced three to five together in the leaf-axils, or at the end of twiggy shoots in April and May; petals oblong; calyx 1⁄8 in. long with a cup-shaped base and five short triangular teeth, grey with starry scales; stamens deeply cleft at the top, the anthers partially embedded in the notch.
Native of Yunnan, China; discovered by Schneider and introduced by Forrest in 1913 as D. dumicola. In the smallness of its leaves it resembles D. monbeigii, but in that species they are more tapered at the base and are white beneath. D. monbeigii also has more flowers in each cluster.