This species differs from Polylepis quadrijuga Bitter (1911) in having obovate leaflets with shorter villous hairs and a lower number of stamens and from P. sericea Wedd. (1857) by obovate leaflets (versus elliptic leaflets), serrate leaflet margins (versus entire) and longer styles.
Trees 4–8 m tall. Leaves only slightly congested at the ends of the branches, imparipinnate with 3–4(5) pairs or lateral leaflets, obtrullate in outline, (2.5–)3.3–5.2 × (1.8–)2.3–3.5 cm; rachises villous, point of leaflet attachment with a tuft of long, straight hairs, slightly resinous, stipular sheaths acute at the apex with spurs, densely sericeous on the outer surface; leaflets obovate in outline, second pair from the terminal leaflet the largest, one of this pair (1.1–)1.4–2.0 × 0.4–0.8 cm; margin serrate with 5–6 teeth, coriaceous, apically slightly emarginate, basally unequally cordate; upper leaf surfaces glabrous with few trichomes in the mid-vein depression; lower surfaces densely villous with hairs 1.4–1.8 mm. Inflorescences pendant, 6.3–10.6 cm long, bearing 7–15 flowers; floral bracts 4.5–5.4 mm long, narrowly triangular, sparsely villous on the outer surface; rachises sparsely villous. Flowers 7.5–8.2 mm diam.; sepals 3–4, ovate, densely villous outside; stamens 9–11; styles fimbriate, 2.8–3.2 mm long. Fruits turbinate, with variable number of spines, densely villous; 3.3–3.6 × 4.7–5.6 cm including spines. Diploid.