Meliaceae Trichilia triacantha, bariaco, is an evergreen shrub or small tree which may reach 8 to 10 m in height and 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter.
Leaves are glabrous and frequently clustered at the ends of branches.
They are compound with 3 to 7 leaflets that, with the exception of the terminal one, are paired. Leaflets are 2 to 3 cm long and 0.25 to 0.50 cm wide, stiff and leathery, entire, obovate and widest at the apex. The apex is truncate and has 3 stiff spines 2 to 3 mm long arising from the mid- and lateral veins. The inflorescence is a panicle reaching up to 4 cm in length. Flowers are perfect, sessil, and about 3 mm in diameter.