Trees. Branches yellowish gray or brownish; branchlets angled, downy. Leaves of short branchlets with petiole terete, 3-7 cm, downy; leaf blade orbicular, 5-8 cm, abaxially greenish, slightly pubescent along veins, adaxially green, base rounded or broadly cuneate, margin coarsely sinuate dentate, ciliate, apex apiculate. Sprouts with leaf blade long elliptic, base cuneate, margin nearly doubly serrate, apex shortly acuminate, glabrous. Fruiting catkin ca. 6 cm; rachis pilose. Capsule ovoid, ca. 4 mm, 3-valved, sessile. Fl. May, fr. Jun.

Similar to Populus pilosa but branchlets angled; petiole longer, to 7 cm; leaf blade suborbicular, base rounded or broadly cuneate, margin coarsely dentate.

Along rivers; 1800-3000 m. Xinjiang (W Kunlun Shan) [Tajikistan]