Belongs to the monotypic genus; Subfamily: Coryphoideae; Tribe: Chuniophoeniceae. Solitary palm, 4-10 m high, can reach 18 m high. Stem bulbous at the base. Leaves costapalm, 12-18 in the adult crown. Inflorescence terminal, composed, each lateral unit branched in three orders. Fruits ellipsoid to obovoid , persistent perianth, fleshy pericarp. Globose seeds, with anastomosed furrows.

Also known as the suicide palm, T. spectabilis is a hapaxanthic species (Gardiner & al., 2017). Phylogenetically, Tahina is related to the monotypic genus Kerriodoxa (Dransfield & al., 2008). The seeds of this species are traded on the international horticultural market (Rakotoarinivo & al., 2020).