Trees 5-7 m tall, andromonoecious. Bark blackish gray. Young branchlets greenish gray, covered with white wax; winter buds ovoid, scales imbricate, margin ciliate. Leaves deciduous; petiole 2.5-5 cm, slender, glabrous; leaf blade suborbicular, 5-6 cm in diam., papery, glabrous, base deeply cordate, (7 or)9-lobed; lobes usually ovate-oblong, margin serrulate to ca. 1/2 of blade, teeth acute, apex acute. Inflorescence terminal, corymbose, usually 3-5-flowered; peduncles 2-3 cm. Pedicel 4-8 mm. Sepals 5, purple, ovate-oblong. Petals 5, yellowish white, broadly ovate. Stamens 8. Disk extrastaminal. Ovary densely villous; style glabrous. Fruit yellowish white; nutlets convex; wing narrowed at base, 2-2.4 cm × 6-8 mm, wings spreading acutely or obtusely. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Sep.

One of us (Chang) believes that this species would be better treated as a synonym of Acer ceriferum. Chang considers A. ceriferum to be a distinct taxon from A. robustum, which is here treated as a synonym of A. ceriferum, due to distinctive chemical differences. Further work is required to clarify the relationship between A. robustum and A. ceriferum. One of us (Chen) believes that A. ceriferum occurs only at its type locality and is within the distributional range of A. robustum, whereas A. linganense is common only in Anhui and Zhejiang.

● Mixed forests; 600-1300 m. S Anhui, Zhejiang.