The trunks are bare at the bottom but retain persistent leaf bases in its youngest parts; enlarged paper-like appendages, ocreas, form where the petioles meet the stem.

Fossilized pollen referable to this genus has been recovered in upper Miocene deposits in northwest Borneo; its long history, and its wide variety of unusual features may indicate its climbing habit evolved independently of other rattans.

[2] Plants of the World Online currently includes:[4] The genus is concentrated around the Sunda Shelf's perhumid region with northern outliers in Indochina the Andaman Islands and Burma and south to Sulawesi and New Guinea.

[2] The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata as well as Macaranga caladiifolia and Clerodendrum fistulosum, grow alongside some Korthalsias in Borneo, and also feature swollen appendages in which ants nest.

[3] The stems and sheaths are made into rope, baskets and binding in house construction,[2] but, unlike many other rattans they are irregularly knobby and scarred, which generally excludes their use in worked and polished furniture.