Trees 10-20 m tall. Bark gray, longitudinally exfoliate; branchlets glabrous or tomentose; terminal bud glabrous or hairy. Petiole 1-6 cm, glabrous or tomentose; leaf blade narrowly ovate or ovate-oblong to ovate-orbicular, 6.5-17 × 3.5-11 cm, abaxially glabrous to densely shortly gray-white or brown tomentose, adaxially glabrous, lateral veins 3-11 pairs, base oblique, rounded, truncate, or cordate, margin entire or with a few minute teeth near apex or prominently dentate, apex acuminate or acute. Cymes 3-22-flowered, 5-14 cm, glabrous or hairy. Bracts band-shaped to oblanceolate, 6-16 × 1-3 cm, adnate to peduncle for ca. 1/2 of length, stellate pilose or tomentose to glabrous, base cuneate to rounded, apex obtuse to acuminate, sessile or stalk 0.5-0.8 cm. Pedicel 4-9 mm, glabrous or tomentose. Sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 4-6 mm, abaxially puberulent, adaxially villous at base, margin densely hairy. Petals 6-8 mm, glabrous, shortly clawed. Stamens 35-50, in 5 fascicles, glabrous; staminodes 5, oblanceolate, prominently keeled. Ovary ovoid, densely gray-white stellate tomentose; style 3-4 mm, glabrous. Fruit globose or obovoid-globose, not ridged, 7-11 × 7-9 mm, brown or gray hairy, verrucose; exocarp woody, hard, indehiscent. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Jul-Nov. n = 82*.

Tilia tuan has long been recognized as the most variable Tilia within China (e.g., by Rehder and Wilson in Sargent, Pl. Wilson. 2: 368. 1915). Pigott (Edinburgh J. Bot. 59: 239-246. 2002) indicated that he believes that a number of the more local species in China should be included within T. tuan, a view that has been at least partially followed in this account.

● Forests; 1200-2400 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.