Plants trees 2- 9(-15) m tall; bark smooth to rough and reticulate, grey or black. Leaves appearing after the flowers and fruits, alternate or crowded at the end of spur-shoots, with 5–11(–13) leaflets, leaf rachises 8–33 cm long, lower surfaces convex, upper surfaces grooved, densely pinkish rusty-tomentose but later glabrescent; leaflets elliptic, oblong-ovate to ovate, 5–15.5 cm. long, 3–7.5 cm. wide, basal leaflets somewhat shorter and broader than the terminal, tips acute to acuminate or obtuse, terminal leaflets symmetric, cuneate and with petiolules 1–3.5 cm. long, the lateral onesleaflets asymmetric, cuneate, rounded, truncate or subcordate at the base and subsessile, all at first densely pink rusty-tomentose on both surfaces but changing to sparsely stellate-hairy above and rusty-tomentose beneath, finally dull brown or reddish brown and glabrous above and rusty-tomentose to somewhat glabrescent beneath; midribs prominent beneath; lateral veins and reticulation raised on the lower surfaces, sometimes concealed by hairs when young. impressed on the upper surfaces. Inflorescences unbranched spike-like panicles, arising before the leaves or carried below them, crowded at the end of the short corky branches, male inflorescences up to 22 cm. long, female inflorescences up to 8 cm. long; axes tomentose; pedicels 1.5-3 mm long, tomentose; flowers in dense clusters. Calyx segments ovate to suborbicular, 1.2-1.5 mm long, covered with stellate hairs or nearly glabrous, ciliolate; petals greenish to bright yellow, oblong-ovate to obate or subcircular, 3-5 mm long, 4-9 mm wide, glabrous to covered with stellate hairs. Drupes obliguely ovoid to suborbicular, flattened, 7-10 mm long, 6-9 mm wide, 4-5 mm thick, red at maturity.
Lannea schimperi is known from Nigeria, Cameroun, and from Ethiopia to Mozambique. Documentation of its occurrence in Somaliland is needed. It may have been mistaken for Lannea malifolia.