[3][4][5][6] Above the basal pair of leaflets the rachis is flattened on the upper surface with angular edges (tending to winged).

[5][7] They are enclosed within a green, fibrous involucre, which dries and opens to release the fruit, becoming brown and woody in the process.

This species grows in rainforest, monsoon forest and vine thickets from the Torres Strait islands and Cape York Peninsula south to the Atherton Tableland and the adjacent coastal areas, and from sea level to 800 m (2,600 ft).

[3][5][11][7] The species was formally described in 1878 by Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in the 11th volume of his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae based on plant material collected near the Endeavour River in north-east Queensland.

[7] As with many other plants in the Anacardiaceae family, contact with the resin or other parts of the tree can cause severe allergic reactions including dermatitis, conjunctivitis, and headaches.