[1] It is native to eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, southeastern Tibet, and southwestern China, where it grows at altitudes of {{Cvt|3000–4000 meters.

It is a shrub that grows to 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) in height, with leathery leaves that are suborbicular or ovate-elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 4–8.5 cm (1.6–3.3 in) long by 2.5–4 cm (1.0–1.6 in) wide.

[citation needed] It is placed in section Ponticum.

[2] As of February 2024[update], Plants of the World Online accepted two subspecies:[1]

This Ericaceae article is a stub.