Growth form: Tree
Height: Up to 15 m
Trunk and branches: Long spines 1–5 cm, reddish-brown, glossy, often in threes
Leaves: Generally pinnate, 10–24 lanceolate leaflets 1–2 cm long, slightly toothed, often mucronate-spiny
Flowers: In dense axillary clusters 4–5 cm long, 3–5 petals, greenish, 2–3 mm long
Fruits: Flattened pods, brown-black, 8–40 cm long and 2–4 cm wide, sometimes helicoidal, containing numerous lens-shaped seeds