Trees to 10 m. Branchlets and leaf blade abaxially densely silvery-gray lepidote. Leaf blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic, rarely narrowly ovate, 1.5-9 × 0.5-2 cm, apex acute to acuminate, mucronate. Panicles axillary or subterminal, 2-4 cm. Flowers bisexual or functionally unisexual. Drupe ellipsoid, 2-4 cm, mesocarp thick and fleshy. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Sep.

Widely cultivated in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang. Probably originating in the Mediterranean region or SW Asia