Slender tree with a trunk that splits and forms twisted branches and irregular foliage. Looking at the leaves, it would be easy to confuse them with pagoda trees and rosewoods, but the branches on the robin tree have thorns. The fruit, a flattened legume, which is also different from the fruits of the other two species, hang from the tree well into the winter. In its habitat of origin, it is usually found in immature phases of the formation of a forest and is then replaced by other species so that only single individuals or small groups remain.

Although its flowers are edible, the bark, the leaves and especially the seeds are highly poisonous: they paralyse the nervous system and agglomerate red blood cells. Despite this, the giraffes at the Zoo eat the branches and fruit without being affected.