Solitary or clustering, small palms. Stems slender, with conspicuous nodes. Leaves bifid, or irregularly or evenly paripinnate; leaf sheath clasping, splitting opposite petiole, not forming a tubular crownshaft; petiole present or absent. Pinnae reduplicate, single or united, praemorse apically. Inflorescence interfoliar, spicate; peduncle elongate, erect; prophyll laterally compressed; peduncular bract tubular, attached distally remote from attachment of prophyll, with peduncle exposed for most of its length, enclosing inflorescence in bud, deciduous; rachilla less than or c. length of peduncle. Flowers spirally arranged in shallow pits; triads in proximal portion, staminate flowers in distal portion. Staminate flower symmetric or asymmetric in bud; stamens 4–20; filaments short; anthers dorsifixed to approaching basifixed; pistillode absent or small. Pistillate flower globular to elongate. Fruit ellipsoid, cylindric, globose or pyriform, yellow or pink to red; stigmatic remains apical; epicarp smooth; mesocarp fleshy, thin, with longitudinal fibres appressed to endocarp; endocarp thin. Seed subbasally attached; raphe attached for less than ½ length of seed; endosperm homogeneous; embryo basal. Eophyll bifid.
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