The fruit has a rounded dark red to purple shell and creamy white flesh, rich in oil of a pale yellow color.

Bacaba fruit are cooked to prepare a juice which is much sought after by local people,[2] though generally less popular than açaí.

The fruits are rich in natural phenols, especially in flavonoids and their red color is due to cyanidin hexosides.

Form optimal germination, seeds should be planted at a depth of 2 cm in sand and vermiculite, and the temperature kept around 30 °C.

The capital of Amapá, Macapá, also received influence in its name, whose toponymy is of Tupi origin, as a variation of "macapaba", which means "place of many bacabas".