Patterns of genetic variation and morphology support the recognition of five species in the Blume (Ericaceae) group from mainland China.

and its varieties form a clade of aromatic shrubs that is widely distributed in subtropical and East Asian tropical regions. The group is taxonomically difficult and in need of thorough taxonomic investigation. This study focused on taxonomic delimitation within the group from mainland China. Field surveys covering the distributional range of in mainland China were conducted, wherein four populations from Yunnan and one from Hunan were found bearing morphological and habitat differences. A 63-species phylogenetic tree of based on one nuclear and three chloroplast markers that included samples from the group was reconstructed with maximum likelihood to clarify the monophyly of the group. Taxonomic relationships among populations were investigated with morphology and population genetics, the latter by using two chloroplast genes and two low-copy nuclear genes. Based on the sum of morphological and genetic analyses, we described three species of as new to science, clarified the taxonomic status of var. , elevating it to the species level, and resurrected and treated the varieties var. , and var. as synonyms of this species. We provide a key to the five species now recognized, along with descriptions and photographs.