Tree, mostly less than 10 m, sometimes up to 36 m high, dbh up to 60 cm, with up to 2.40 m high buttresses. Twigs 1.5-7 mm in diam., puberulous or tomentellous, either persistently so or early glabrescent to sometimes glabrous nearly from the start. Leaves (1-foliolate or) 1-7-jugate; petiole 0.75-11.5 cm long, 0.75-2.5 mm thick, terete to semi terete; axes densely hairy to glabrous; petiolules 3-8 (in the Philippines up to 12.5) mm long, mostly narrowly and deeply grooved, without or with only a faint median rib, sometimes more broadly and shallowly so and with a stronger rib. Leaflets (narrowly) elliptic (especially in the Philippines more often widest slightly below the middle), 4-20 by 1.75-11 cm, index 1.75-4.5, thin-pergamentaceous to thin-coriaceous, above puber-ulous on the midrib to glabrous, beneath sparsely puberulous on the base of the midrib, furthermore all over the surface densely minutely sericeous, to sometimes glabrous; domatia mostly common, sometimes scarce or absent; base acute or (especially on the Asian continent and in the Philippines) in lower leaflets obtuse to rounded, attenuate; sides mostly curved, sometimes nearly straight; apex mostly acuminate, the acumen usually short, broad, obtuse; midrib above prominulous to exceptionally slightly sunken, usually a slender rib, in the Philippines often broader and more rounded, nerves 0.5-2 cm apart, above slightly sunken to sometimes prominulous, intercalated veins variable, venation mostly reticulate, ± tending to scalariform, sometimes conspicuously and rather densely scalariform, either above prominulous, beneath hardly visible, or in the eastern races prominulous on both sides. Inflorescences axillary, partly together pseudoterminal. Sepals slightly or up to halfway connate, 1-2.75 mm long. Petals absent. Disc glabrous. Stamens 5-8. Ovary 2-(rarely 3-)celled. Fruits ellipsoid to subglobular, 4-6.5 by 2.5-5 cm, glabrous, coarsely spiny, spines up to 1.5 cm long, bulbous-based and often confluent at the base, or sometimes knobby, knobs short tongue-shaped; wall coriaceous, up to 7 mm thick.
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A small tree. It can sometimes grow up to 30 m high. The trunk can be 60 cm across. It sometimes has buttresses. The bark is brown. The twigs can be hairy or smooth. The leaves have 1-7 pairs of leaflets. The leaflets are oval. They taper to the tip. The base can be tapering or round. They are 4-20 cm long by 2-11 cm wide. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. The flowers are in the axils of leaves near the ends of branches. The fruit are oval or almost round and 4-6.5 cm long by 2.5-5 cm wide. They have hard woody spines.
A tropical plant. It grows in the humid tropics. In Borneo it grows up to 1,300 m above sea level. It suits areas with a rainfall between 2,000-5,000 mm. The best temperature is between 20°-30°C. The best pH is 4.5-6.5. It grows on sandy and clay soils. It grows between 12°N-12°S. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.
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Primary mixed dipterocarp or sometimes secondary forest; growing on flat lands, slopes, riverbanks, rarely in swamps; usually on clay, loam, more rarely on rocky soil, particularly shale, basalt, or limestone; from sea level to 1,950 metres.
Uses Cultivated as a fruit tree; the timber is also used. See Heyne Nutt. Pl. Indon. ed. 3 1950 999 Ochse Ind. Vrucht. 1927 256 f. 123, 124 Ochse & Bakh. Fruits Fruitcult. 1931 143 pl. 56 Burkill Dict. Econ. Prod. Malay Penins. 1935 1547 W.H. Brown Useful Pl. Philipp. 2 1950 367 f. 178 Kraemer Trees West. Pacific Reg. 1951 220 f. 78 Allen Malayan Fruits 1967 177 f. 64 Chin & Yong Malaysian Fruits in Colour 1982 8 Seibert Verheij & Coronel (eds.) Pl. Res. SE Asia (PROSEA Handb.) 2, Edible fruits and nuts 1991 233 .
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The fruit are eaten. It is also cooked and made into jam. The seeds are roasted and used for a beverage.
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