Tree, to 10 (15) m tall, 30-40 cm dbh; bark with disagreeable odor; stems glabrous. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate; stipules prominent especially on juvenile plants, persistent, slender, to 1 cm long; leaflets in (5) 7-15 pairs, opposite to subopposite along the rachis, oblong, acuminate, rounded at base, mostly 4-9.5 (13) cm long, 1.5-4.5 (5) cm wide, glabrate to minutely puberulent on midrib. Panicles terminal, 15-30 cm long; branches, pedicels, and calyces brown-puberulent; flowers red-violet, subsessile, ca 1 cm long, with sweet aroma; calyx campanulate, the teeth short, +/- equal, ca 3 mm long; standard darker inside in a broad submarginal band, white at center below; wings slightly exceeding length of keel, the keel petals held together loosely by overlapping on outer edge; stamens diadelphous, the staminal sheath open, glabrous; filaments alternating long and short, curved inward somewhat; style sharply curved inward, glabrous; stigma small, brushlike, longer than the anthers. Drupes ligneous, oval, to ca 5 cm long, the exocarp green, woody, thick; seed 1, oval, slightly shorter than drupe. Croat 5342,12272. Common along the margin of the lake and occasional in the young forest. Flowers and fruits may be seen throughout the year. Flowers mostly in the middle to late dry and early rainy seasons (February to May), with most fruits maturing in the middle to late rainy season, especially in September and October. A second flush of flowering may occur in October, with the fruits maturing in January and February.