Trees to 20 m tall. Young branchlets slightly sulcate, dark brown when dry. Petiole 1.5-2.8 cm; leaf blade elliptic to oblanceolate, 15-30 × 6-12 cm, leathery, abaxially with lamellate, waxy scalelike trichomes and grayish brown when dry, base attenuate and decurrent on petiole, margin entire, apex acuminate; secondary veins 10-14 on each side of midvein, abruptly curving apically, often fusing near margin; tertiary veins abaxially slender, evident, subparallel. Male inflorescences paniculate, basal spike 3-4 cm; rachis tawny scurfy. Female inflorescences 10-18 cm; cupules in clusters of 3-5. Infructescences to 17 cm; rachis base 6-10 mm thick, basal part lenticellate and without fruit. Cupule globose, 2.5-3 cm in diam., completely enclosing nut, wall ca. 1 mm thick; bracts squamose when young, in 3-5 thin concentric ridges on mature cupule. Nut subglobose, 1.8-2 cm in diam., apex with minute tawny hairs, wall 2-2.5 mm thick and woody; scar covering more than 1/2 of nut, convex. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Aug-Oct of following year.

* Mixed mesophytic forests in valleys; 1200-1400 m. NE Guangdong (Ruyuan Yaozu Zizhixian), S Guizhou