A tree up to 30 m tall occurring in the highlands of the Caucasus and Northern Iran at altitudes of up to 2,500 m. Young specimens have a silvery bark that turns dark grey with advancing age. Branches mostly begin low down. The bark becomes rough and takes on deep grooves: young twigs are covered in thick woolly hair. The leathery obovate leaves are 12 - 22 cm long and 5 - 14 cm wide. They are regularly lobed with 8 - 10 pairs of shallow blunt lobes. They are rough and dark green on the upper side: the underside is grey and felt-like. The acorns are grouped from 1 to 4, are approx. 2.5 cm in size and are half to two-thirds enclosed in the cupule. The cupule is covered with narrow contiguous scales. Q. macranthera is resistant to mildew.