Tree to 25 m, 40 cm ø. Twigs glabrous, often marked with prominent orbicular scars of fallen leaves; growth discontinuous, terminal buds protected by leathery scales, leaving conspicuous scars. Leaves glabrous, elliptic to obovate with cuneate base and acuminate apex, 15-35 by 6-11 cm; nerves 10—14(—16) pairs; petiole 2-5 cm. Spike resembling a cone in bud because of the large bracts, becoming 5½(-8)cm; axis tomentose. Bracts and bracteoles tomentellous to appressedly pubescent, both soon caducous, broadly ovate, 6-10 by 6 mm and narrowly ovate, 2½-5 mm long respectively. Calyx tomentellous, 3-3½ mm long, the 5 lobes originally c. 1 mm long but the calyx becoming 2-3-lobed by tearing. Corolla 4-6 mm. Stamens c. 60 to more than 100. Disk glabrous. Ovary glabrous, 1-1½ vcim high; style c. 5 mm, with soft hairy conical base. Fruit ovoid or ellipsoid, royal blue, 2½-4 by l½-2cm, with chartaceous mesocarp; stone stellate in cross-section with 8 very high ridges; cells 3, often only 1 fertile. Seed straight with straight embryo.
Lowland rainforest, river valleys in low undulating country, on hillsides on clay, on dry hillocks in Dryobalanops forest, but also on sandstone or granite, mostly below 300 m, but also in Malaya more rarely in montane forest up to 1500 m. Fl. July-Aug.; fr. Febr.-May (July).
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