[3] Friedrich Welwitsch, the Austrian botanist who first formally described the species, named it after Angola where he found it growing near the town of Pungo-Andongo.

[4] It is a tree reaching 20 meters in height with grey to black, furrowed bark.

The pedicels have an upper, hairless, oval, green to red-brown bract that is 4-17 by 3-12 millimeters.

The outer petals are white at their base, transitioning to reddish brown with yellow spots near their tips.

The outer petals have flat bases, pointed tips and wavy margins.

The edges of the inner petals are straight and have dense curly hairs near their tips which mesh to form an arch.

The hairless, oval to round fruit are 3.5-8 by 3.5-5 centimeters with a pointed tip.