Bottle Palm is a tree of 2 to 4 m tall. The trunk, shaped like a bottle, is swollen from middle to bottom with a diameter of up to 30 cm, and gradually narrows into a long neck towards the apex. The pinnate leaves grow in a cluster at the apex with 30 to 50 pairs of linear lobes, each 30 to 46 cm long and 1.5 to 2.3 cm wide. The leaf sheaths are cylindrical and smooth, tightly hugging the stem. Spadices, up to 60 cm long, are loosely and much branched, bearing flowers usually in clusters of 6 to 8 on curved branches. The fruits are smooth, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, and turn black when ripe. The plant flowers from July to August, with the fruits reaching maturity after a year.
(Translated from Flora of Guangdong )