The trunks grow to 15 m, usually no wider than 25 cm, and both are solitary, ringed, and
crownshafted. The
leaf is
pinnately compounded, in long sheaths, usually covered in scales and hairs, as is the short
petiole. The ridged
rachis is flattened on the bottom and also covered in hairy
tomentum. The unusual leaflets are once-folded and toothed, twisting upwards in their bottom half. Each leaflet also bears scales and a prominent
midrib, with tomentose margins, and lacking visible veinlets. The
inflorescence emerges below the
crownshaft, stiff and horizontal, and branched to three orders. Covered in scales, the
peduncle is short and thick, the prophyll is tubular, beaked and tomentose, and the long rachis bears numerous short rachillae which are often Z-shaped. The rachillae bear short round bracts subtending triads of large
flowers throughout. The
staminate flowers are more or less asymmetrical and bear three distinct, hairy
sepals, and three ovate, scaly
petals. There may be as many as 100 stamens, with short filaments, and elongated, apically notched, deeply
bifid anthers. The
exine is finely reticulate and tectate. The pistilode is bottle-shaped and has pointed tips. The pistillate flowers are smaller, ovoid, and occasionally hairy; both sepals and petals are imbricate, the latter bearing scales. There are three united staminodes forming a small cup, the
gynoecium is ovoid and uniovulate; the pendulous stigma has three lobes. The
fruit is egg-shaped with a wrinkly exterior, divided into lobed segments when dry, and mature at orange or red. The
epicarp is fibrous, the
mesocarp fleshy, covering a five-lobed
seed, resembling the dry fruit. == Distribution and habitat ==