Classification — Gaultheria sect. Chiogenopsis ser. Trichophyllae. Phylogenetic placement — Trichophyllae clade. Literature — Airy Shaw 1941 (as var.), Fritsch et al. 2015, Fritsch & Lu 2020. Myanmar specimens — The type. Kachin: [Putao District, Nawngmun Township, Hkakaborazi National Park,] Adung Valley, 12,000–13,000 ft, 15 June 1931, F. Kingdon-Ward 9639 p.p. (A! mixed with G. thymifolia). Notes —This species was not listed in Kress et al. (2003); it was raised to the species rank after that publication.

Published as part of Fritsch, Peter W., Armstrong, Kate E., Aung, Mu Mu, Fujikawa, Kazumi & Lu, Lu, 2023, Gaultheria (Ericaceae) of Myanmar: an updated species list for the country, a new species, and a new species combination, pp. 37-61 in Phytotaxa 595 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.595.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7889451