Clustering climbing palm to 40 m tall; stems to 4 cm diam. Leaves ecirrate, to 3 m long; leaf sheaths flagelliferous, with dense needle-like red-brown spines 5–15 cm long, randomly arranged; petiole 0–2 cm long; rachis flat adaxially, densely spiny, with spines single or clustered, straw-coloured. Pinnae 30–55 each side of rachis, regularly arranged, linearlanceolate, to 50 cm long, to 3 cm wide, acuminate, rigid, dark green adaxially, lighter green abaxially, with prominent midrib. Staminate and pistillate inflorescences to 6 m long; lateral branches distichous, numerous, to 1 m long, densely spiny. Staminate flower to 3 mm long. Pistillate flower to 2 mm long. Fruit globose, to 10 mm diam., cream to pale brown.
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