Trees to 30 m tall. Branchlets usually brown when dry, glabrous, rarely sparsely pilose or densely tomentose; winter buds big, bud scale glabrous. Petiole 3-8 cm, usually sparsely pilose; leaf blade broadly elliptic or orbicular to ovate-orbicular, (5-)7-13 × (4.5-)6-9 cm, papery, abaxially densely stellate tomentose, adaxially glabrous, basal veins 5-7, lateral veins 7-9 pairs, base usually oblique, cordate, truncate, or rounded, margin serrate, apex acuminate or shortly acuminate. Cymes 1-3-flowered, usually not exceeding bract, shorter than leaves; peduncle hairy. Bracts long band-shaped, 4-9(-12) × 1-2 cm, adnate to peduncle for 2/5-1/2 of length, abaxially hairy, adaxially glabrous, sessile or with stalk to 0.5 cm. Sepals narrowly ovate, 6-7 mm, abaxially stellate hairy, adaxially stellate tomentose or glabrous at central part, margin densely hairy. Petals 8-9 mm, glabrous. Stamens 30-45, in 5 fascicles; staminodes 5, smaller than petals. Ovary 5-angled, gray-yellow tomentose; style glabrous; stigma peltate or capitate. Fruit ellipsoid or globose, prominently 5-angled, 10-14 × 8-9 mm, gray-yellow tomentose; exocarp woody, hard, indehiscent. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 164*.

● Forests; 1800-3100(-3900) m. Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.