Large, deciduous tree, 20-30 m. Bark grey, grey-brown or black. Young branchlets stout, at first fulvous-or rufous-sericeous, later glabrescent. Leaves papyraceous, spirally arranged and crowded at the ends of the branchlets, very shiny above, sparsely pilosulose or glabrous, rather obscurely verruculose, appressed-pubescent below eventually glabrescent, manifestly but not very conspicuously pellucid-punctate, obovate to obovate elliptic, 10-20 by 5-13 cm, rounded and usually shortly acuminate at the apex, subcuneate or slightly cordate at the base; nerves 8-12 pairs, domatia usually present but without indumentum other than that covering the undersurface of the lamina; petiole appressed-pubescent, becoming nearly glabrous, 2-3 cm. Flowers white, sessile, in axillary spikes 5-10 cm long; rhachis appressed-pubescent. Bracts not seen. Lower receptacle (ovary) densely sericeous 2-3 mm long, upper receptacle scarcely developed. Calyx-lobes triangular, 1½ by 2 mm, subsericeous outside, nearly glabrous within. Filaments glabrous, 3 mm; anthers 0.8 mm long. Disk barbate. Style glabrous, 3 mm. Fruit glabrous when mature, ellpsoid, not laterally compressed, 5-6 by 2½-3 cm, beaked or apiculate at the apex, shortly stipitate at the base, showing in cross-section an irregular mass of sclerenchy-matous tissue enclosing pockets of alveolar tissue, which breaks down to form air-chambers.
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