Daphne genkwa is a deciduous shrub and one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has the name yuán huā (Chinese: 芫花).
The plant was discovered by the prolific plant collector Charles Maries.
In addition to the nominate subspecies, Daphne genkwa subsp. genkwa, two further subspecies are recognized. Both are treated as separate species by the Flora of China.Daphne genkwa subsp. jinzhaiensis (D.C.Zhang & J.Z.Shao) Halda (syn. Daphne jinzhaiensis) differs from subsp. ...