Trees. Bark gray. Branchlets puberulent, glabrescent. Petiole 2-3 mm, pubescent; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 13.5-24 × 4-5 cm, papery, abaxially pubescent along midvein, adaxially glabrous, secondary veins 10-13 on each side of midvein, adaxially flat, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate to shortly acuminate. Inflorescences axillary, 1- or 2-flowered; peduncle short. Pedicel 5-10 mm, pubescent, bracteolate at base. Sepals broadly ovate, ca. 2 × 3 mm, outside puberulent, inside glabrous. Petals oblong, 6-10 × 2.5-4 mm, all similar and almost equal in length, leathery, outside pubescent, inside glabrous, apex obtuse. Stamens ovate-cuneate; connectives apically broadly truncate, puberulent. Carpels many, ovate-oblong, villous; ovules 2 per carpel, sutural; stigmas sessile, capitate, villous. Fruit not seen. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Jun-Aug.

Polyalthia lancilimba is listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1ab(i,ii,v)) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Version 2010.3; http://www.iucnredlist.org; accessed on 7 Oct 2010).

● Forested slopes; ca. 200 m. SE Yunnan (Hekou).