A large, very high liana, or "climbing tree"[3] in the palm family, Korthalsia laciniosa occurs in the closed forests of Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, Malay Peninsula, Vietnam, Cambodia and elsewhere in Indochina, and the Nicobar and Andaman Islands.

[2] It has been recorded from in the seasonal tropical forests of Cát Tiên[4] and Bạch Mã National Parks in Vietnam, where it occurs in clumps of 4 to 20 individual stems, up to 7.2m long.

[5] It is described as a common species in the Andaman Islands, growing in the moist semi-evergreen and deciduous forests belt.

[7] Small diameter canes are used to make fences and rafts, the same and the leaves are used for decorative purposes (such as tables and benches), especially during rituals and ceremonies of the Nicobarese.

An earlier report on Korthalsia in the Andamans[6] describes K. laciniosa as giving a robust and durable cane, occasionally used to make cane-chair frameworks, but becoming locally scarce in places on South Andaman due to over-extraction.