The old stems of Hyphaene petersiana where the leaf remains have dropped off display these deep horizontal grooves. While one clump of the stems produces a dense tangle of leafy crowns, the stems do not branch, each bearing just one cluster of leaves at its tip.

The northern lala palm or mokola palm stem typically displays a slight swelling in its middle or upper section (Mannheimer and Curtis, (Eds.), 2009; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997).