The leaflets are c. 17 cm long, lanceolate, with a slightly bent margin, and a midrib that is more prominent on the paler lower surface.

[1] According to de Laubenfels and Adema, the plant is also found in Sri Lanka, but this may be confusion with the closely related Cycas circinalis.

[2] The tree grows 200 meters above sea level, in light forests and their borders, or near coastal sites on sandy soil or coral formations.

As a relatively fast-growing cycad, Cycas thouarsii is occasionally grown in horticulture as a specimen plant.

[4] Although toxic, the seeds are eaten on the Comorian island of Ngazidja, particularly in the regions of Hamahame and Washili, where the plant, known as ntsambu, has cultural significance.