A deciduous tree up to 80 ft high, with pale grey bark and glabrous young shoots. Leaves ovate (sometimes narrowly so) broadly wedge-shaped, rarely rounded at the base, gradually tapered to a point, sharply but shallowly toothed or merely wavy at the margin, 21⁄2 to 51⁄2 in. long, 11⁄2 to 23⁄4 in. wide, dark bright green above, rather glaucous and covered with fine down beneath, veins in nine to thirteen pairs; leaf-stalk 1⁄2 to 11⁄8 in. long. Husks up to 1 in. long, covered with slender, curled bristles; stalk 11⁄2 to 2 in. long, downy near the husk only.
Native of Central and W. China; discovered by Henry; introduced in 1911. Wilson observes that, whilst at its best it is a stately tree which resembles F. crenata in general appearance, it is usually rather small. Its leaves in size and shape resemble those of the American F. grandifolia, but the leaf-stalk is much longer. This length of leaf-stalk combined with the closely downy undersurface of the leaves, their ovate shape, and the long slender stalk of the husk make the species very distinct.
F. lucida Rehd. & Wils., was discovered in Hupeh, China, by Henry about 1887 and twenty years later by Wilson; plants introduced by the latter in 1911 are in cultivation. He found it a tree from 20 to 30 ft high, with a ‘broad, flattened or rounded crown’. The leaves are very distinct. They are ovate, 2 to 4 in. long, 1 to 21⁄4 in. wide, glossy green on both surfaces, the veins running out from the undulated margins to form small but distinct teeth. Husks covered with short, appressed, deltoid appendages. A tree at Nymans in Sussex appears to be F. lucida; it measures 39 × 21⁄4 ft (1970).