Trees, 6-12 m tall; bark gray. Branchlets stellate puberulent. Petiole 1.5-3 cm; leaf blade orbicular or ovate-orbicular, usually slightly 3-5-lobed, 6-10 × 5.5-11 cm, thickly papery, abaxially densely gray-white stellate tomentose, adaxially sparsely stellate hairy, basal veins 5-7, base cordate or shallowly cordate, margin obtusely dentate, apex shortly pointed or shortly acuminate. Inflorescence cymose, terminal or axillary, up to 7 cm, many-flowered. Epicalyx lobes pinnately partite, linear, 1-1.5 cm. Sepals 5, linear-lanceolate, slightly longer than epicalyx lobes, densely yellowish brown tomentulose. Petals 5, yellow, oblong, apex emarginate, base narrowed into thick claw, base of claw villous. Ovary ovoid-globose; style glabrous; stigmas 8-10, twisted. Capsule ovoid-globose, ca. 5 × 2.5 cm, apex pointed and beaked, valves 5 or 6(-10), apex shortly pointed, abaxial surface keeled or not, adaxial margin sericeous. Seeds many, winged. Fl. Mar-Apr.

Open forests on slopes; 800-1400 m. Guangxi, SW Sichuan, S Yunnan [?Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].