Pachycaul tree to 28 m; bole to 30 cm diam., sparsely branched, buttressed. Bark black with fine striations; inner bark dark brown; heartwood yellowish. Leafy twigs to 2.5 cm diam., fulvous tomentose. Leaves to 2 m long, pseudogemmulate (imparipinnate and up to 4-jugate when young), bunched in terminal spirals; petiole 10–20 cm, terete or flattened adaxially, decurrent with twig and forming axillary cavity with it, ± fulvous tomentose; rachis somewhat angular, glabrescent to fulvous tomentose. Leaflets in up to 14 pairs, opposite except for those near base of rachis, to 40 by 11 cm, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous adaxially when mature, ± densely fulvous pubescent abaxially, green when young, base narrowed into petiole, apex acute to acuminate when tip to 2 cm long, midrib stout, densely fulvous tomentose abaxially, costae 20–24 on each side, weakly arcuate near margin, subpubescent adaxially, prominent and pubescent abaxially. Inflorescences to 30 cm long, borne in axils of upper or undeveloped leaves, weakly branched to narrowly paniculiform at base; axis flattened to angular, shortly fulvous tomentose when young, glabrescent later; branches rather more densely pubescent, few-flowered with caducous bracts; pedicels 3–20 mm, somewhat angular, light-brown hirtellous, articulated with pseudopedicel, swollen at articulation. Calyx (10–)13–20(–23) mm long, 15–20 mm diam., cupular to subcylindrical, ± densely ferrugineous-velutinous, margin truncate or irregularly split to halfway into 2 or 3 ± triangular lobes. Petals 9–14, 35–40 by 2–6 mm, white. Staminal tube 27–32 mm, glabrous, thin proximally, margin truncate; anthers 15–20, slightly exserted or included, 3–4 mm long, glabrous. Disk glabrous. Ovary in female flowers 3–5 mm diam., 7-or 8-locular, glabrous to densely yellow hairy; the style ± pubescent, especially below the stylehead 2 mm diam., discoid to shallowly cylindrical, glabrous. Infructescence to 30 cm. Capsule to 13 cm long, 10 cm diam., golden brown, densely hispid. Seeds to 5 cm long and orange-segment-shaped; the sarcotesta densely vascularized.
Home