An evergreen tree, at least 40 ft high, with a trunk 1 ft or more in diameter, and a compact, rounded head of branches. Leaves 3 in. in average length, oblong or obovate, tapering at the base to a slender stalk 1⁄2 to 1 in. long; glabrous, leathery, and glossy green. Flowers (rarely seen in this country) 11⁄2 to 2 in. across when fully expanded, magnolia-like, fragrant; sepals and petals pale yellow. Fruits on a cone 2 in. long, each containing usually three seeds.
Native of southern Japan and the Ryukyu Islands; introduced in 1894. It was cultivated at Kew for some years and proved hardy though slow-growing. A plant of this rare species grew for some forty years at Borde Hill in Sussex, with the protection of a south-facing wall, but its flowers, though quite freely borne, made little display.