Pau de angu is a spiny shrub or small tree with a globose, dense crown; it can grow 6 - 12 metres tall
], though sometimes it is a climbing shrub 2.5 - 4 metres tall[
]. The bole is crooked, and can be up to 30 - 40cm in diameter
].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for its wood, which is used locally. Ornamental when in bloom, it is grown in gardens, on roadsides etc. Its spines protect it from vandalism when it is smal