[1] This plant grows in the sandstone hills of the Waterberg Range at 1400 to 1500 meters in elevation.

[1] This species was named for South African naturalist Eugène Marais.

Its leaves are bluish or silvery, 100–150 cm long, and have a strong keel.

The leaflets are lanceolate, 15–20 cm long, and arranged oppositely along the rachis at a 45–80° angle.

The seeds are oblong, 35–40 mm long, and covered with an orange or brown sarcotesta.