Korea Flora: Deciduous tree. Height 10m. Young branches have brown hairs. Leaf scars semicircular, with 8-12 vascular bundle scars in a U-shape. Branches thick, with yellowish-brown hairs when young. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnately compound. Leaflets number 9-11, slightly thick, ovate-elliptical or lanceolate-elliptical, acuminate at apex, cuneate at base. Leaflet size 6-11cm × 2.5-3.5cm, with hairs on both sides, especially dense on veins of the underside. Margins sparse, low, almost awn-like teeth. Leaf veins number (5)6-8. Petioles short. Flowers in terminal panicles, with racemes on each branch. Flowers white with short pedicels. Petals about 3 times longer than sepals, round, with dense hairs on the ovary. Fruit and seeds round, 7mm in diameter, black.

Flowering: June

Fruiting: Early September to early November

Distribution: Western Honshu and Tsushima in Kyushu, Japan; Okinawa; North and South Jeolla, Gyeongsangnamdo, Chungcheongnamdo, and Hwanghaedo in Korea.

Taxonomic notes: This species has taxonomic controversies. According to C. F. van Beusekom (1971), Meliosma pinnata distributed in tropical regions, is considered a widely distributed species in Southeast Asia that has differentiated regionally. The tree distributed in China, Korea, and Japan is viewed as subsp. arnottiana, further divided into var. oldhamii (evergreen) and var. arnottiana (deciduous). However, many intermediate forms exist between evergreen and deciduous, so this characteristic is not considered very important. The trees found in Jindo, Jeollanamdo, have very thick leaves, appearing semi-evergreen. In China, it's considered an independent species, while in Japan, it's treated as separate from the widely distributed tropical M. pinnata, with two varieties of M. arnottiana (evergreen and deciduous). This guide supports Beusekom's broader species concept, which studied all Southeast Asian species. However, for the evergreen type, the scientific name is considered M. pinnata var. arnottiana (Wight) Beusekom, differing from Ohba's treatment in Japan (M. arnottiana var. arnottiana).

Japan Flora: Tree, with robust branches, golden-brown pubescent while young; leaves pinnate, the leaflets 9-15, chartaceous to mem­branous, very short-petiolate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5-10 cm. long, 2-3.5 em. wide, long-acuminate, cuneate to acute at base, with remote short-awned teeth, loosely pubescent on both sides, more densely so on the nerves beneath, the secon­dary nerves ending in the teeth; panicles large, the branches elongate, composed of numerous short few-flowered racemes; flowers short-pedicel led; petals 3 times as long as the sepals, orbicular; ovary villous; fruit red at maturity.  June.

Hon­shu (Suwo Prov.), Kyushu (Tsushima); rare. Ryukyus, Formosa, China, and s. Korea,