A lofty, deciduous tree, up tp 35 m tall, with a spreading crown and a bole of 4-6 m. Main stem generally armed with broad conical spines, 2-3 cm long ; branchlets usually sparsely armed with straight or ascending prickles, often swollwn and hollow, apparently housing ants ; bark cream-coloured or yellowish grey, studded with concial spines, thick, deeply and finely reticulate-fissured ; leaves paripinnate or imparipinnate, 30-40 cm long, glabrous, clustered at the end of branches : leaflets 5-8 pairs, opposite or subopposite, ovate to elliptic, chartaceous, occasionally with scattered, pellucid dots, oblique, entire to glandular-crenate ; flowers white to yellowish white, in terminal paniculate cymes which may sometimes be located in the upper leaf-axils; follicles globose, aromatic, red, rugose, 6-7 mm in diam.; seeds blue-black, subglobose, shining.

Antiinflammatory, anesthetic and "antagonistic" (fruit’s essential oil); bitter and aromatic (bark); astringent, stimulant and digestive (pericarp)

Stearic, palmitic, linoleic, oleic and linolenic acids (seed oil); 1S. 2S and 4S-trihydroxy-P-menthane (fruit’s essential oil).

Rheumatism, asthma, bronchitis, heart disorders and diarrhea (fruit); in cholera (seed tincture)

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.