This is a clustering rattan palm with slender, cane-like stems that can scramble through the understory or lean on surrounding vegetation for support. Instead of a crownshaft, its long pinnate leaves emerge directly from the stems and often display sharp spines along the petioles and rachis. The crown is feather-leaved, with delicate, narrow leaflets that taper to a fine point, giving it a lacy, graceful look despite its armament. Inflorescences are slender and branched, extending from among the leaves and protected by spiny sheaths. The fruit are small, scaly, and reddish to orange when ripe, typical of rattans, each containing a single seed.