Small semi-deciduous tree, up to 15 m tall; older branches spiny; spines single or paired, 1–2 cm long. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; petiolate; lateral leaflets ovate to elliptic, c. 7 × 4.2 cm; terminal obovate, c 7.5 × 4.8 cm, densely glandular-punctate. Inflorescences racemose, 4–5 cm long, clustered in leaf axil. Flowers greenish-white. Sepals broadly triangular. Petals oblong-obovate. Stamens many, white. Ovary superior, c. 7 × 3.5 mm; style very short. Fruit a berry, 10 cm in diameter, with hard, woody shell; pulp sticky, edible. Seeds woolly-pubescent, enclosed in a sac of sticky mucilage that solidifies upon drying.

Occasionally grown in backyard gardens for its fruits. Propagated by seed sowing, separation of root suckers, or air layering.
Young leaves and young inflorescences sometimes added to nam phrik (dipping sauces) in local dishes of north-eastern Thailand.