A deciduous, bushy-headed tree, of stiff habit, 20 to 35 ft high, its trunk 1 to 2 ft in thickness. Leaves 10 to 15 in. long, pinnate, with seven to fifteen leaflets, which are very downy beneath, dull green, and soon nearly or quite glabrous above, broadly ovate, pointed, oblique at the base, 2 to 3 in. long, with a short stalk. Panicle of male flowers about 4 in. long, and 2 in. wide, erect; the female one more slender. Flowers 1⁄4 in. across, yellowish green. Fruits orange-shaped, black, each nearly 1⁄2 in. across, borne on an erect downy panicle.
Native of Japan; introduced about 1870. It is distinguished from the other species by the thick, greyish down beneath the leaflets, and by their broader proportions. A well-grown tree is handsome when in full leaf and fruit. It flowers in July.
The example at Kew measures 35 × 5 ft (1967) and there is another in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden of the same size, planted in 1898.