It is a tree 10–54 m high,[2] found in Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

If the land areas of China and Japan are excluded, its distribution nearly coincides with that of the genus and includes both the western outliers in India and the easternmost part on Normanby Island.

In China, it is called rou tuo zhu bai and in Vietnam, it is known as Kim giao núi đất.

[5] It is an erect evergreen and glabrous tree tall up to 50 m with a cylindrical stem and thin colourless juice.

The ovoid seeds with 1-inch length are formed at the end of receptacle and enclosed in a green epimatium which later turns into a purple coloured fleshy structure.

[6] The species is distributed in areas such as Yunnan province of China, Indochina, Malaysia (but not found in Central and Eastern Jawa and on the Lesser Sunda Islands), certain parts of India including Assam, Andaman-Nicobar Islands, and Nilgiri hills and Palani hills of Kerala.

[13] Nageia wallichiana is considered as the most truly tropical of all conifers in the world because of its occurrence from the sea level dipterocarp forests near the equator to montane forests thriving above 2100 m. Usually, the species have a distribution in the altitudinal range from 900 to 1500 m in India[14] while in Vietnam the altitudinal range is specified as 500 m to 2100 m AMSL.

[7] Nageia wallichiana is found to be more abundant in 'kerangas‘ (forests on leached sandy soils) than in close canopy rainforests.

This is a subtype of Cullenia exarillata – Mesua ferrea – Palaquium ellipticum – Gluta travancorica vegetation type (CMPG).

Other wood uses include veneer, plywood, furniture making, interior finishing, and often the construction of small canoes in areas like Fly River, Wagu, and Papua New Guinea.

[17] According to the IUCN conservation strategy, Nageia wallichiana is a Least Concern (LC) species because of its widespread nature.

The global threats include the cultivation of annual and perennial non-timber crops and wood and pulp plantations in the natural habitats.