The Sawthorn oak (Quercus acutissima) belongs to Fagaceae (the Beech family). It is a tall deciduous tree that is distributed southward from Iwate-Yamagata prefecture of Honshu to Shikoku and Kyushu in Japan, as well as the Korean Peninsula, China and Southeast Asia. This tree grows in the hills and mountains and can reach about 15 m in height. The barks are grayish brown and furrowed into irregular ridges. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, alternate with wavy toothed edges. The yellow-brown inflorescences are borne almost as soon as foliation in April to May. The male inflorescences are drooping and the female ones are upper part. The fruits are nuts about 2 cm in diameter. In Chinese, it is called "麻櫟" (ma li).