Evergreen trees, up to 20 m tall, ca. 25 cm d.b.h. Branchlets obtusely tetragonous, red-brown when dry, very densely yellow-brown tomentose when young. Buds small, ovoid, densely yellow-brown tomentose. Leaves opposite; petiole robust, 1-1.2 cm, plano-convex, densely yellow-brown tomentose; leaf blade yellow-green and opaque abaxially, dark green and shiny adaxially, elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 11-22 × 5-6.5 cm, papery or subleathery, very densely yellow-brown tomentose abaxially, glabrous or yellow-brown tomentose only along lower part of veins adaxially, subtriplinerved, midrib and basal lateral veins very elevated abaxially, impressed adaxially, basal lateral veins arising at or up to 6 mm above leaf base, arcuate-ascendant and interconnected up to leaf apex, with a few oblique additional veins outside, transverse veins numerous, conspicuously elevated abaxially, slightly impressed when young but almost invisible with naked eye when mature adaxially, base subrounded, margin involute, apex caudate. Flowers unknown. Infructescence paniculate, axillary on upper part of branchlet, robust, 10-15 cm; peduncle 5-9 cm, ± angled, peduncle and rachis densely yellow-brown tomentose. Fruit ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 × 1.2 cm; perianth cup in fruit obconical or bowl-shaped, ca. 6 mm, truncate and up to 1.2 cm wide at apex, abruptly contracted into ca. 4 mm long stalk at base; fruit stalk densely yellow-brown tomentose.

The plants from Yunnan are very similar to Cinnamomum javanicum var. neglectum (Blume) Meisner (C. neglectum Blume), from Indonesia, especially in their subtriplinerved leaves and yellow-brown tomentose indumentum.

Dense forests; ca. 1400 m. SE Yunnan (Pingbian) [Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam].