Small to large deciduous trees up to 80 feet tall. Mature trees are characterized by bark which becomes finely fissured and falling in large pieces and exposing a smooth, dark, underlying layer. Leaves compound with 3-6 pairs of leaflets are often hairy on the undersides. The central stalk of the young leaves is winged.
Flowers are insignificant, in terminal or lateral clusters.
Fruits globose, shiny brown, about 0.75 inches in diameter, containing a single, round, black to reddish- brown seed. It is a highly variable species with respect to leaflet number, the size of the wings of the leaf stalk, flower size, and fruit size. In other parts of the world the wood is used in carpentry, the leaves and roots are used medicinally, the crushed seeds as fish poison and insecticide, and the fruits as a substitute for soap. Manele is an attractive, quick-growing tree with a fairly compact crown. It can be used as a specimen or shade tree and is especially effective in grove plantings.