Elaeagnus lanceolata subsp. grandifolia Servettaz; E. lanceolata subsp. rubescens Lecomte; E. lanceolata subsp. stricta Servettaz.

Shrubs, evergreen, erect or divaricate, to 4 m tall. Spines absent or on old branchlets; young branches densely scaly. Petiole yellow-brown, 5-7 mm; leaf blade lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or narrowly oblong, 5-15 × 1.5-8 cm, leathery, abaxially densely silvery scaly, adaxially scaly when young, glabrescent, lateral veins 8-12 per side of midrib, inconspicuous abaxially, conspicuous adaxially, base rounded, margin entire, revolute, apex acuminate. Flowers often 3-5 in axils. Pedicel 3-5 mm, slender. Flowers yellowish white, outside densely silvery scaly. Calyx tube tubular, 5-6 mm, abruptly constricted above ovary; lobes broadly triangular, 2.5-3 mm, inside sparsely white stellate, apex acuminate. Filaments very short or absent; anthers oblong, ca. 1.5 mm. Style erect, glabrous or sparsely stellate-hairy; stigma 2-3 mm. Drupe red, ellipsoid, 1.2-1.5 cm × 5-6 mm, densely scaly. Fl. Aug-Oct, fr. Apr-May.

● Valley forests; 300-2900 m. Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.