Large liane up to 75 m long, climbing to the tops of the tallest trees, unarmed; young branchlets glabrous or rarely (but not in our area) pubescent. Leaves: petiole up to 5 cm long, eglandular; rhachis ending in a forked tendril; pinnae 1-2 pairs; rhachillae 5,5-15 cm long; leaflets 3-5 pairs, 25-75 X 11-35 mm, elliptic to obovate-elliptic, obtuse or rounded apically, emarginate, glabrous or nearly so except for puberulence on the midrib above and near the base of the leaflet beneath. Stipules up to 3 mm long, deciduous. Inflorescences spicate, spikes axillary on lateral branches which are sometimes leafless and abbreviated, the spikes thus aggregated; spikes 6,5-15 cm long, axes pubescent; peduncles 1-6 cm long. Flowers yellowish-white or greenish-yellow, sessile or on pedicels up to 0,5 mm long. Calyx cupular, ±1,25 mm long, shortly 5-toothed, glabrous or rarely (but not in our area) pubescent. Petals free, ± 2,5 mm long, glabrous. Stamens linear, ± 6 mm long; anthers with an apical caducous gland. Ovary up to 2,25 mm long, glabrous. Pods gigantic, 0,5-2 m long, 7-15 cm wide, woody, straight or curved, but not spirally twisted, outer leathery layer of the pod-wall falling away to expose a reddish-brown woody rigid inner layer, ultimately breaking up transversely into 1-seeded segments. Seeds deep brown, ±5 x 3.5-5 cm, hard, smooth.
