Solitary feather-leafed palm growing to 15 m but often no more than 9 m in cultivation with c. 30 cm diameter. Crownshaft light green with about 12 strongly arching fronds; fronds 1.8-2.4 m long, leaflets regularly arranged. Old fronds abscised cleanly from trunk. The much-branched inflorescences from beneath the crownshaft bearing smallish white unisexual flowers of both sexes in the same cluster. The fruits are in large grapelike clusters and matures a brilliant scarlet.