Stems clustered, climbing, to 50 m, to 4 cm in diam. Leaf sheaths brown, covered with black, needlelike, horizontally spreading spines to 2.5 cm, these arranged in short rows, interspersed with shorter spines to 0.5 cm; ocreas present, densely spiny; knees obscure; flagella present, to 2.5 m; rachis to 0.8 m with 30-62 linear pinnae per side, these regularly arranged and closely spaced; middle pinnae to 40 cm, to 1.5 cm wide at mid-point, adaxial and abaxial veins minutely bristly; cirri absent. Inflorescences to 3 m, flagellate; inflorescence bracts tubular. Fruits yellowish brown, globose-ellipsoid, to 2 (including a short beak) × 1.2 cm, scales fringed.
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