This is a tall, slender, clustering palm that forms dense stands of slender, upright trunks heavily armed with black spines from base to crownshaft. Each stem is topped by a smooth green crownshaft that supports a graceful crown of arching pinnate leaves with narrow, neatly arranged leaflets. The foliage creates a refined tropical canopy despite the palm’s formidable defenses. Branched inflorescences emerge below the crownshaft and produce small flowers followed by rounded fruits that ripen from green to red and eventually dark purple-black. In habitat, this species often forms striking colonies in lowland tropical forests and coastal swamp margins.