Machilus cathayensis Chun ex Hung T. Chang; M. kwangtungensis var. sanduensis Y. K. Li; Persea kwangtungensis (Yen C. Yang) Kostermans.

Trees, to ca. 10 m tall; trunk ca. 18 cm d.b.h. Young shoots densely ferruginous tomentose, 1-year-old and 2-year-old branchlets blackish when dry, glabrous with yellowish brown lenticels and circular scars of bud scales. Petiole ca. 1 cm, pubescent; leaf blade oblong or oblanceolate, 6-11(-15) × 2-4.5 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially appressed pubescent, adaxially glabrate, midrib abaxially elevated, adaxially impressed, lateral veins usually 10-12 pairs, slender, inconspicuous on both surfaces, base attenuate, apex acuminate. Panicles arising from lower part of current year branchlet, 5-10.5 cm, grayish yellow pubescent; peduncle slightly compressed. Pedicel slender, 5-7 mm. Perianth lobes subequal, oblong, ca. 5 mm, grayish yellow pubescent on both surfaces, apex obtuse. Filaments hairy, those of 3rd series with stipitate glands at base. Staminodes sagittate. Ovary glabrous; style slender. Fruit subglobose, slightly compressed, 8-9 mm in diam., blackish when ripe. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. May-Jul.

● Mountain slopes, broad-leaved forests in valleys, valleys by watersides. Guangdong, NE Guangxi, S Guizhou, S Hunan.