Shrubs, evergreen, erect or climbing. Spines absent; branches robust, diverging at ca. 90°, densely brown scaly; young branches with dense yellowish gray scales. Petiole brown, 6-12 mm; leaf blade abaxially canescent, adaxially green, elliptic or ovate, 6-12 × 4.5-5 cm, leathery, abaxially with dense silvery scales and sparse brown scales, adaxially scaly when young, then glabrous, impressed punctate, midrib raised abaxially, impressed adaxially, lateral veins 6 or 7 per side of midrib, inconspicuous abaxially, raised adaxially, base rounded or cuneate, margin undulate or entire, apex rounded or bluntly acute. Flowers in clusters of 2-4 along axils or reduced, often leafless, axillary shoots. Pedicel 2-4 mm, slender; fruiting pedicel 1.2-1.4 cm. Flowers whitish, outside densely silvery scaly. Calyx tube tubular, 6.5-7 mm, not widening at base of lobes; lobes ovate-triangular or ovate-oblong, ca. 3.8 mm, inside sparsely white stellate-pilose with few brownish scales, apex bluntly acute. Filaments nearly absent; anthers oblong, ca. 2.1 mm. Style erect, longer than tube, densely or sparsely stellate-pilose; stigma ca. 2 mm, acute; disk hardly distinct but densely villous. Drupe ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 × 0.75 cm, brown scaly.

Elaeagnus xichouensis is known to us only from the protologue.

● Mountain forests; 1400-1900 m. SE Yunnan.