This is the wild form of macrocephalum, displaying both fertile and non-fertile white flowers in a lacecap display on 4-5" flat-topped cymes. Shiny red fruits turn black and are very effective. Grows to 10-15' but not as wide making it upright in habit. V. carlesii and V. macrocephalum f. keteleeri were crossed byDr. Donald Egolf to produce V. x carlcephalum. He had also crossed f. keteleeri with V. x 'Eskimo' which resulted in V. x 'Nantucket' (National Arboretum 69852). V. macrocephalum f. keteleeri was introduced from its native China in 1860.
This is considered the wild form of V. macrocephalum.