Trees, to 15 m tall. Bark gray-white. Branchlets slender, terete, densely yellow-brown villous. Petiole 7-15 mm, densely yellow-brown villous; leaf blade narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, 8-14(-20) × 1-3(-3.5) cm, leathery, abaxially densely or sparsely yellow-brown villous, adaxially glabrous or yellow-brown pubescent along midrib, midrib adaxially impressed, rarely plane, lateral veins 7-13 pairs, abaxially distinct, base attenuate, apex acute or obtuse, sometimes rounded. Inflorescences subracemose, slender, axillary at middle and upper part of newly sprouted branchlet, 4-8(-9) cm; peduncle and pedicel densely yellow-brown pubescent. Perianth lobes subequal, ca. 4 mm, yellow-brown pubescent on both surfaces, apex obtuse or subacute. Filaments hairy, at least hairy at base, those of 3rd series with shortly stipitate glands at base. Ovary subglobose; stigma large, usually 3-lobed. Fruit globose, ca. 1.3 × 1 cm; fruiting pedicel slightly thickened; persistent perianth lobes lax, apex somewhat extrorse. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Oct-Nov.

After publication of the family treatment for the Flora of China, this was treated as Machilus forrestii (W. W. Smith) L. Li et al. (Plant Biodiversity and Resources 33: 160. 2011).

● Mixed forests of mountain slopes or valleys; 1700-2500 m. SE Xizang, C and W Yunnan.