Korea Flora: Deciduous shrub; height 1.5m. Branches arching laterally, densely covered with yellowish-brown hairs when young. Leaves alternate, rhomboid, ovate or spatulate; apex acute or rounded; base rounded or broadly cuneate; size 3-5cm × 2-3cm; margins with sharp serrations or divided into 3 parts; upper surface dark green with fine hairs; lower surface with yellowish dense hairs. Petiole 4-6mm long. Inflorescence corymb with dense hairs; peduncle 1.0-1.3cm. Flowers 10mm in diameter, white, 20-30 per inflorescence. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, initially spreading but later erect. Stamens not exceeding corolla. Fruit follicle with hairs, styles attached slightly below apex and reflexed.

Flowering period: Mid-May to mid-June
Fruiting period: July-October
Distribution: Central and southern China, southern Honshu to Kyushu in Japan; mainly in Jeollanam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Gangwon-do in Korea.
Taxonomic notes: Spiraea chartacea Nakai from Daeheuksan-do and Hong-do Islands was known as a deciduous shrub different from S. chinensis, with thicker glossy leaves and more dense hairs on the underside, but is considered individual variation in island populations. In China, S. dasyantha Bunge from northern regions is treated as a separate species (Lu et al., 2001). S. dasyantha has somewhat triangular or inverse-triangular calyces, less divided teeth, and white tomentum on leaf undersides, while S. chinensis has ovate-lanceolate calyces, densely divided teeth, and yellowish-brown tomentum on leaf undersides. The Japanese name S. nervosa Franch. et Sav. is treated as a synonym of S. dasyantha in China, but in Japan it is considered identical to S. chinensis, causing taxonomic controversy. More detailed research on interspecific relationships is needed.