Korea Flora: Deciduous shrub, 1m tall. Young branches ridged, reddish-brown, glabrous. Winter buds ovoid, acute apex. Leaves alternate, broadly elliptic or lanceolate, obtuse at both ends, 2-5cm × 1.5-3cm; margins doubly serrate or singly serrate; upper surface dark green, lower surface grayish-green, veins prominent, glabrous or pubescent along veins. Petioles 2-4mm long. Inflorescences racemose, glabrous, borne terminally on new shoots growing upright from lateral branches, 2.5-3.5(5)cm in diameter. Flowers white; calyx lobes 5, ovate-lanceolate; petals 5, ovate-orbicular; stamens much longer than petals, anthers white. Ovaries 5, glabrous but with hairs on the inner surface of carpels. Fruits erect or spreading, 2.5-4mm long, nearly glabrous. Seeds 1.5mm long, narrowly fusiform.

Flowering: May-June.
Fruiting: September-October.
Distribution: Eastern and northern Far East Russia (including southern Kuril Islands), Hokkaido to central Honshu (Japan); Gyeonggi and Gangwon (Korea).
Taxonomic note: Kim and Sun (1996) argued that this taxon represents a variation in leaf morphology and is difficult to recognize as a distinct species. However, it is widely accepted as a valid species in China, Russia, and other regions, and no significant differences have been found between populations distributed domestically and abroad. While it resembles Spiraea prunifolia in having glabrous inflorescences, its narrower inflorescence width distinguishes it. The overemphasis on leaf shape in the classification of the genus Spiraea has led to excessive subdivision of species. Further detailed studies of traits in northern populations are needed to refine the taxonomic assessment.