Trees 10-15 m tall. Branches glabrous, dark brown when dry, lenticellate with age. Petiole 6-10 mm; leaf blade oblong, 10-15 × 3-4.5 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially with scurfy, waxy scalelike trichomes and ± glaucous, adaxially glabrous, base cuneate, margin entire, apex narrowly acuminate; secondary veins 10-13 on each side of midvein; tertiary veins abaxially slender, evident. Male inflorescences solitary in axils of leaves or arranged in a panicle; rachis scurfy. Female inflorescence with cupules in clusters of ca. 3; clusters stalked. Infructescences 8-12 cm; stalk of fruit clusters 3-6 mm. Cupule bowl-shaped, 5-7 mm × 1.2-1.5 cm; basal bracts united into obscure concentric rings, triangular, small, with scurfy, waxy scalelike trichomes. Nut depressed globose, 0.8-1.1 × 1.2-1.6 cm, glabrous, base flat, apex rounded; scar 7-10 mm in diam., concave. Fl. Dec-Jan, fr. Dec-Jan of following year.

* Broad-leaved evergreen forests; 1300-1700 m. SE Yunnan (Pingbian Miaozu Zizhixian, Xichou Xian)