This is a solitary-stemmed palm native to the lowland forests of New Guinea, where it grows in humid and shaded understory habitats. The trunk is slender and typically remains small in diameter, supporting a neat crown of broad, fan-shaped leaves that are deeply divided. The leaves form a dense, circular crown, their glossy green blades held on long, unarmed petioles that give the palm a graceful look. Its inflorescences emerge among the leaves, bearing small cream to yellowish flowers that later develop into clusters of round red fruits. First described as Dammera simplex by Schumann and Lauterbach in 1900, it was transferred into Licuala by Odoardo Beccari in 1921.