It can reach up to 10 metres (approx. 33 feet) of height. Its trunk is pretty vigorous, with a brown-greyish bark, not very cracked. It has composed leaves with 2-3 pairs of tough leaves, coloured in a shiny dark green on the top, and brighter ones underneath. Its flowers, with a papilionaceous corolla growing on short spikes, may blossom underneath the foliage on the trunk and on older branches. Its fruits are either called carobs or “vajanas”, they are pods, from 10 to 20 cm (approx. 4 to 8 inches) of length, thick and leathery, with a fair green colour at first and dark brown once ripe. They have a very tough external surface, with a fleshy, sugary and fat pulp. They contain dark, tough egg-shaped seeds