Acer franchetii Pax var. majus Hu; A. huanum W. P. Fang & C. C. Hsieh; A. sterculiaceum Wallich subsp. thomsonii (Miquel) A. E. Murray; A. villosum Wallich var. thomsonii (Miquel) Hiern.

Trees to 30 m tall, dioecious. Bark dark brown or brown. Branchlets greenish brown, rough, glabrous; winter buds ovoid, scales imbricate. Leaves deciduous; petiole 5-12 cm, subglabrous; leaf blade suborbicular or broadly ovate, 10-15(-30) × 8-15(-20) cm, subleathery, primary veins 5, lateral veins 6-8 pairs, base cordate, 3-lobed; lobes short, margin usually entire or repand, rarely few serrate, lateral lobes acute apically. Inflorescence lateral, racemose, pendulous. Sepals 5, elliptic. Petals 5, ca. as long as sepals. Stamens 8. Ovary glabrous. Infructescence 10-12 cm. Samara wing oblong, including nutlet 8-12 cm, wings spreading acutely or erectly. Fl. Apr, fr. Sep. 2n = 26.

Mixed forests, valleys; 1800-3000 m. S Xizang, S Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand].