Plant arborescent, often suckering from base to form clumps. Stem erect but often leaning to some extent, up to 4 m tall and about 300 mm thick, covered by remains of leaf bases; crown somewhat woolly. Leaves 1100-1500(-1800) mm long, rigid and straight to somewhat arched; petioles unarmed, glabrous, 50-200 mm long and and 15-18 mm thick; rachis yellowish; basal leaflets progressively reduced in size towards base of leaf with the lowermost produced as prickles, median leaflets spaced 20-35 mm apart, succubously overlapping or not, directed towards apex of leaf at angle of about 30°, opposing leaflets set at angle of about 135° to each other, glossy dark green, very narrowly ovate with both margins usually dentate (uncommonly entire) and apices acute and pungent, (80-) 120-180 mm long and 14-20(-27) mm wide. Male cones on stalks up to 100 mm long, very narrowly ovoid, 3-4 per stem, covered with sparse and very short tawny felt-like indumentum, orange to orange-yellow, 300-500 mm long and up to 100 mm across; median exposed faces of microsporophylls rhombic, drawn out into prominent drooping beaks towards central facet, only central facet well defined. Female cones ovoid, 2-3 per stem, covered with sparse and very short tawny felt-like indumentum, pale apricot-yellow, about 450 mm long and 220 mm across, exposed faces of megasporophylls smooth and raised pyramidally towards central facet, other facets poorly defined; sarcotesta of seeds bright red. Plant arborescent, often suckering from base to form clumps. Stem erect but often leaning to some extent, up to 4 m tall and about 300 mm thick, covered by remains of leaf bases; crown somewhat woolly. Leaves 1100-1500(-1800) mm long, rigid and straight to somewhat arched; petioles unarmed, glabrous, 50-200 mm long and and 15-18 mm thick; rachis yellowish; basal leaflets progressively reduced in size towards base of leaf with the lowermost produced as prickles, median leaflets spaced 20-35 mm apart, succubously overlapping or not, directed towards apex of leaf at angle of about 30°, opposing leaflets set at angle of about 135° to each other, glossy dark green, very narrowly ovate with both margins usually dentate (uncommonly entire) and apices acute and pungent, (80-)120-180 mm long and 14-20(-27) mm wide. Male cones on stalks up to 100 mm long, very narrowly ovoid, 3-4 per stem, covered with sparse and very short tawny felt-like indumentum, orange to orange-yellow, 300-500 mm long and up to 100 mm across; median exposed faces of microsporophylls rhombic, drawn out into prominent drooping beaks towards central facet, only central facet well defined. Female cones ovoid, 2-3 per stem, covered with sparse and very short tawny felt-like indumentum, pale apricot-yellow, about 450 mm long and 220 mm across, exposed faces of megasporophylls smooth and raised pyramidally towards central facet, other facets poorly defined; sarcotesta of seeds bright red.
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