The woodland elaeocarpus is found in China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam (Indochina).

The greeny-white flowers are grouped in racemes and are followed by black olive-like fruit in autumn.

The wood does not resist water, so it is not considered good timber, but it is used for growing shiitake mushrooms.

The larvae of the moth Leucoblepsis excisa feed on the leaves of E. sylvestris.

In urban forests of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, the Formosan squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus taiwanensis) is a pest to the tree because of its gnawing habit.