Its leaves are 140–170 cm long, blue-silver, slightly inclined, with straight petioles containing up to six spines.

Leaflets are 17–24 cm long, 13–18 mm wide, toothed, and form angles of 45-80° with the leaf.

It occurs on slopes of low granite hills in the Gravelotte Rocky Bushveld, in either open grassland or shrubland.

[5] It is listed under CITES Appendix I, which implies that it is "most endangered" in its natural range.

[5] In addition to illegal collecting, an application for strip mining in Selati Game Reserve is seen as a threat.