The compound leaves are usually about 20-45 cm long and covered with rusty hairs giving a scurfy effect particularly along the upper surface but this eventually falls off. There are 10-12 pairs of stout opposite pinnae. The middle pairs are 7-13 cm long and also have rusty hairs along the central grove. Flowering commences at variable periods within West Africa. The main flowering seasons is between March-April with smaller flushes in June and November.
Fruits are available at most periods of the year because the large woody pods are persistent.
Fruit splits open explosively with the valves curling up. This is the form in which they appear on most trees. Usually, pods contain between 6-10 flat glossy brown seeds which may vary in site. The seed are up to 7 cm long. Distribution and Ecology Pentaclethra macrophylla occurs from Senegal to Angola and also to the Islands of Principe and Sao Tome.