A large, woody climber, up to 15 m in height. Bark black, branchlets glossy, black, more or less armed with recurved prickles; leaves large, bipinnate, armed with recurved prickles at the base of pinnae; pinnae 2-5 pairs, often armed; leaflets 2-3 pairs, coriaceous, acute or obtuse, ovate or elliptic, upper surface shining, lower dull; flowers fragrant, yellow, in axillary and terminal racemes combined into a 20-40 cm long panicle, bracts caducous; pods greenish brown or dark brown to black, 5 cm long, usually one-seeded; seeds black, orbicular to ovoid or reniform, flat, beaked.

Anthelmintic and antiascarid, diuretic (root); emollient and febrifuge (seed); anthelmintic (leaves and bark)

Philiphine Medicinal Plants

Palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids, sitosterol.

Uterine tonic after child-birth (powdered leaves); in eye diseases (stem and roasted fruits); to cure liver disorders (powdered seeds with sugar and goat's milk); as tonic in intermittent fevers, asthma and colic (kernals)

Sharma, Classical Uses of Medicinal Plants.