Despite the common name Madagascar palm, Pachypodium lamerei is actually a shrubby succulent, with thick, prickly stems, simple leaves and white / yellow flowers in terminal clusters. The plants rarely flower indoors.

Early research shows that the plant may contain anti-microbial compounds, as other members of the genus do. These include fatty acid methyl ester (stearic acid methyl ester 1), a mixture of two steroidal aglycones (β-sitosterol 2 and stigmasterol 3), a pentacyclic triterpene (ursolic acid 4) and a steroidal glucoside (β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside 5).