Tree to 15(–25) m; all parts onion-scented when bruised; bole to 25 cm diam., fluted with buttresses to 30 cm tall and out. Bark smooth to cracking into small blocks, often hooped and with prominent brown lenticels, brownish; inner bark pinkish brown; sapwood pale cream. Twigs smooth to striate, pale brown, leafy ones c. 9–12 mm diam., rusty-brown velutinous when young; buds densely velutinous, young leaves fist-shaped. Leaves to 1 m long, in lax terminal spirals; petiole 8–14 cm, flattened to channelled adaxially, ± densely velutinous, swollen at base. Leaflets 5 or 6 on each side, opposite to alternate, one often appearing apical through fall of spike, leaving scar on other side, the largest the most distal, 17–29 by 6–14 cm, oblong, somewhat coriaceous, glossy and glabrous save sometimes midrib pubescent adaxially, brown velutinous abaxially, especially on veins, bases obtuse, apices shortly acuminate to cuspidate, veins ± sunken adaxially and prominent abaxially, costae c. 12–14 on each side, obtuse, inarching only at margin, some secondary ones, particularly proximally, almost as conspicuous, tertiary venation subscalariform; petiolules 4–8 mm, somewhat sulcate. Thyrses to 60 cm, unbranched or with few subsquarrose branches to 10 cm; axes ± densely brown velutinous; bracteoles 4–6 mm, lanceolate, densely pilose. Calyx c. 2.5 mm long, 5 mm diam., shallowly cupular, ± velutinous without, margin ± irregularly 5-crenate. Petals 5, c. 12 by 2.5 mm, narrowly spathulate, valvate, white, densely adpressed pubescent without, tips acute, thickened. Staminal tube white, glabrous, margin subcrenulate; anthers 10, c. 1.5 mm long, narrowly oblong, sublocellate, glabrous, inserted c. 3 mm within tube, free filament c. 0.5 mm. Disk c. 2.5 mm long, cylindrical, densely adpressed hairy on both surfaces. Ovary densely adpressed hairy, (?) 3-locular, each locule (?) 2-ovulate; style terete, adpressed pubescent; stylehead capitate c. 0.8 mm diam. Capsule up to at least 8 cm diam., flattened-globose, deeply sunken between the 2 or 3 fertile locules, brown and velvety when young, pale cream when riper. Seeds c. 2 cm diam., subhemispherical, flattened adaxially, covered with shining thick sarcotesta (?), pink when mature.
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