Tree up to 20 m high. Bole up to 16 m, up to 30 cm diam. Outer bark yellowish-brown or pale greyish-brown, with scattered lenticels; inner bark pinkish-brown, sapwood pale yellowish-brown, becoming pinker inwards; white latex. Twigs with numer-ous orange brown and yellowish–brown peltate scales which have a fimbriate margin. Leaves 28–95 cm long, 22–62 cm wide; petiole 5–19(–28) cm long, petiole, rachis and petiolules with numerous to densely covered with scales like those on the twigs. leaflets 5–7(–9), 8–37(–45) by 2.5–13(–21) cm, pale yellowish green or pale green when dry; apex acuminate; usually cuneate or sometimes rounded at the slightly or sometimes markedly asymmetrical base; with numerous to densely covered with scales like those on the twigs and some pale yellow stellate scales on the midrib below, few to numerous mainly stellate scales on the lateral veins and the rest of the lower surface sometimes with numerous pits; veins 7–17(–26) on each side of the midrib; petiolules 5–15(–45) mm long. Inflorescence 10–31 (–39) cm long, 6–20(–24) cm wide, peduncle 0.5–6 cm, peduncle, rachis and branches with numerous scales like those on the twigs and some stellate scales increasing in frequency distally. Male flowers 1–1.5 mm long and wide; pedicel 1.2–2 mm, sometimes with a few stellate scales. Calyx with few stellate scales on the outside. Petals 5. Staminal tube cup–shaped, 0.5–1 mm long with a wide aperture 0.4–0.6 mm across, the margin shallowly lobed and sometimes ciliate; anthers 5, broad, about 1/4 to the same length as the tube, usually inserted just below the margin protruding and pointing towards the centre of the flower, sometimes inserted lower down in the staminal tube and included, usually with simple white hairs on the inside of the tube and on the anthers, sometimes densely clumped and visible in the aperture of the staminal tube; stigma obconical, the apex flattened and the margin raised and lobed. Female flowers c. 2.5 mm long and 2 mm wide; aperture of staminal tube c. 0.3 mm in diam.; anthers c. 0.4 mm long and 0.4 mm wide; otherwise like the male flowers. Fruits 2–2.5 cm long, 1.5–2 cm wide, obovoid or ellipsoid, dull brown or orange-brown, indehiscent. Pericarp c. 1 mm thick, hard, densely covered with scales like those on the twigs on the outside. Locules 2, each containing 0 or 1 seed. Seed with aril c. 14 cm long, 1 cm wide and 0.7 cm through; surrounded by a translucent, white, gelatinous aril.
Dense primary forest; ridge forest; more open, secondary formations; riverine forests; occasionally flooded plains; along the coast and along rivers; growing on sands, sandy clays, alluvial, volcanic and limestone soils; elevations to 1,700 metres.
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