Stems unbranched or occasionally branched from base, majority less than 1 m tall and only rarely are they 2 m or more tall, about 30 cm diam. Leaves several to many in a whorl, 1-2 m long including petiole 20-30 cm long; rhachis nearly straight, erect spread­ing, at first tomentose, glabrescent except for pulvinus; leaflets mainly overlapping in the upper half, more spaced in lower half, reduced in size gradually towards base of rhachis into a few to several prickles; median leaflets broadest towards apex, more or less oblong-elliptic, up to about 15 cm long and 3-5 cm broad, rarely up to 5 cm broad, 2-4 small teeth on upper and lower margin and termin­ating in 3-5 broadly triangular pungent lobes at the apex. Cones 1-3 together on stout short peduncles, glabrous, shrimp-pink to red (Brazil Red, R.C.S.). Male cones subcylindric, narrowed to both ends, up to about 40 cm long, 7-10 cm diam.; median scales 3-4 cm long, 2-5-3 cm broad, 9-15 mm thick verti­cally with sharp lateral ridges; bulla face pro­jecting into a decurved beak about 1 cm long, upper and lower facets somewhat rugcs?, terminal facet 6-10 mm broad, and about 6 mm wide vertically. Female cones ovoid to ovate-oblong in outline, 25-50 cm long, 20-40 cm diam., median scales 5-6 • 7 cm long; bulla 4-5-7 cm broad, 3-5-5-5 cm thick vertically, with lateral ridges extending into incurved lateral lobes almost to the main axis, upper and lower facets finely wrinkled in basal half, somewhat rugose on apical half, round­ed, terminal facet slightly concave, 2-3 cm broad and about 2 cm wide vertically. Seeds scarlet, 4 • 5-5 cm long, 1 • 5-2 cm diam., angled by compression, with fleshy beak. Fig. 7.