Small or moderately large tree. Twigs 1 to 2.5 mm. thick, fluted, from sparsely pubescent soon glabrate and dark reddish-brown with prominent light lenticels. Buds 2 to 4 mm. long, ovoid or elongating, acute, glabrous, light brown; the ligulate stipules soon caducous. Leaves subevergreen, thin but rather hard, 4 to usually 8 or even 16 cm. long, 1 to usually 3 or 4 cm. broad, lanceolate or occasionally linear-lanceolate or ovate lanceolate or elliptic, apex long-or short-acuminate, base rounded to usually cuneate or attenuately acute, entire, margins minutely revolute, usually finely crisped, upper surface glabrate and shiny, lower surface glabrate or persistently tomentose along the midrib, dull; veins 8 to usually 10 or 12 on each side, repeatedly branching but obscurely anastomosing near the margin, very slightly or rather clearly raised above, or slightly impressed, some-what more prominent beneath, the reticulum slightly raised on both surfaces; petioles 5 to usually 10 or rarely even 17 mm. long, rather prominently winged, glabrate. Staminate catkins 4 or 5 cm. long, rather loosely flowered, sparsely crisped-villous, the apiculate anthers slightly exserted. Pistillate catkins about 1 cm. long, 2-to 4-flowered along a slender glabrate peduncle. Fruit annual, rather small, solitary or paired on a peduncle 2 to 10 mm. long and as much as 3 mm. thick; cups goblet-shaped or deeper, 12 to 14 mm. broad, about 5 to 10 mm. high, the scales triangular-ovate, apices rounded, appressed, minutely sericeous-puberulent but the apices and margins glabrate and glossy brown; acorns about 12 to 15 mm. long, 11 or 12 mm. broad, subrotund to ovoid, loosely buff-puberulent, light brown where abraded, about one-fourth or one-third included; abortive ovules basal or lateral to subapical.
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