Deciduous shrub to 2 m tall. Leaves ovate, to 15 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, margins entire or finely toothed, the tip long-pointed. Stalk 0.5-1.5 cm long. Flower clusters mostly surrounded by ovate, purplish leafy bracts to about 2 cm long; summer. Corolla to about 2 cm long, purplish. Fruit a dark red ovoid to spherical berry about 1 cm long.

Himalaya,WChina

The bird-attracting fruits have no doubt contributed to the naturalisation of this species both in Australia and overseas. In Australia there are infestations in the Dandenong Ranges in Vic and in the NSWBlue Mtns, where it grows rapidly to form thickets.

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Caprifoliaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.