the leaves, pinnate, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, are 1.1-1.4 m long, supported by a petiole about 13 cm long, and composed of numerous pairs of elliptic leaflets and coriaceous, long 13– 17 cm, with entire margin and thorny apex, fixed on the rachis with an angle of about 40 °, reduced to thorns towards the base of the petiole.