Erect stout tree, 12-15 m. tall.; trunk to 20 cm. diameter, wood hard, armed with deflexed flattened-spines 10-15 cm. long: leaves 2-4 m. long, glossy on upper surface, clustered into a close broad crown; pinnae numerous, irregularly placed on the rachis and often clustered, 1 m. long, 2-4 cm. broad, being long and narrow with parallel sides, glabrous or becoming so when a loose scurf falls, ridged with midrib on upper surface and showing more or less prominent lateral nerves, margins bearing small spicules; petiole 1 m. or more long, armed with retrorse flat prickles from 2 to 15 cm. long: spadix 5 0-60 cm. long at anthesis aside from the long terete armed peduncle, spathe black-spiny and soon becoming free and hanging or fallixig, rachillae 10-15 cm. long, in whorls or irregularly placed and at the base of which are 2 or 3 pistillate flowers 15-18 mm. long in the crooks of the branchlet; staminate flowers with long exserted versatile anthers 5-7 mm. long, closely set on extended part of branchlet, cream-colored: fruit globular-oblong-obovoid, 4-4.5 cm. long including the prominent beak, about 3 cm. thick, 1-seeded, orange, roughish-papillate, unarmed; nutlet about 2 cm. long, with longitudinal black stripes, pores with radiating lines.
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A spiny palm. It grows 6-15 m high. The trunk is 16-22 cm across. It has a solitary trunk and a crown of dark green leaves. The leaves are feather like but spiny. There are 11-18 leaves which spread horizontally and curve. They are 4 m long. The trunk is stout and covered with short, flat, black spines. The fruit are orange-red. They occur in large clusters which hang down on stalks. The hard seeds have star shaped marks on one end.
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