Trees 15-20 m tall. Twigs gray-brown, finely striate, sometimes lenticellate. Petiole 1-1.5 cm; leaf blade abaxially brownish, elliptic, ovate-elliptic, or oblong-elliptic, 12-18(-20) × 4-7 cm, papery, midvein raised on both surfaces; secondary veins regular, 8-10 pairs; tertiary veins rather dense, inconspicuous, base cuneate, slightly decurrent, margin cartilaginous, involute, apex acute or obtusely acuminate. Plants dioecious. Male flowers 2 or 3 in cymule; cymules ca. 2 cm, 1-3 together at apex of young branchlet; peduncles robust, distinctly articulate, 0.8-1 cm; pedicels robust, shorter than 5 mm; sepals 2 large, 2 small, obovate; petals yellowish, 3 large and equal, inner 1 smallest, elliptic or oblong; anthers sessile, complanate, varying in form, 2-celled, cells longitudinally dehiscent; pistillode absent. Female flowers usually solitary at apex of branchlet, larger than males, ca. 1 cm in diam.; filaments of staminodes united and enveloping ovary base; ovary globose, 8-12-loculed, 1-1.2 cm; stigma entire, papillate. Fruit orange-green or orange, ovoid or oblate, 6-8 × 5-9 cm, 6-8(-11)-sulcate outside. Mature seeds 2-4, subrhomboid or obliquely ovoid, 2.5-3 cm. Fl. Aug-Oct, fr. Jun-Aug.

This species is related to Garcinia gummi-gutta (Linnaeus) N. Robson (G. cambogia Desrousseaux) but the latter differs in having male flowers with a pistillode, stamens 10-20 or more, with filaments, rudimentary stigmas 3 or 4, very short or absent, and female flowers with stigmatic rays 8-10-tuberculate, free nearly to the base.

The fruit is edible, juicy, and slightly sour.

● Mixed forests in valleys; (900-)1300-1700 m. W Yunnan.