Japan Flora: Horizontally spreading, much-branched, deciduous shrub, the branches green, glabrous, with 4 corky wings; leaves short-petiolatc, membranous, obovate to broadly oblanceolate, 1.5-7 cm. long, 1-4 cm. wide, acuminate to acute at both ends, glabrous, finely serrulate; cymes 1- to few-flowered, on slender peduncles about 2 cm. long, the pedicels short; flowers 4-merous, pale green, about 6 mm. across; calyx-teeth depressed-rounded, with minute teeth on margin; petals orbicular; fruiting carpels usually 1 or 2, narrowly obovoid, about 8 mm. long, pale red, 1-seeded; seeds ellipsoidal, 4，6 mm. long, enclosed in an range-vermilion aril. May-June. Thickets and woods in lowlands and mountains;

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; common and very variable. Korea, Sakhalin, s. Kuriles, Ussuri, Manchuria and China.

f. subtriflorus (Blume) Ohwi Branches wingless; leaves glabrous
f. pilosus (Loes. & Rehder) Ohwi Branches winged; leaves pilose on under side f. apterus (Regel) Rehder Branches wingless; leaves pilose on under side