The plant is a shrub of 1-2 m height. It occurs in the subparamo of the Cordillera de la Costa be tween 2400 and 2600 m. The leaves are compoundimparipinnate. Each leaf has about 5-13 leaflets. These are glabrous and of ovalate shape, their margins are slightly serrate and the apex is obtuse. The rhachis is winged. Sai is a collective name for Weinmannia in Venezuela. SCHNEE (1960) mentions 3 species which grow in the paramos or subparamos. STEYERMARK & HUBER 1978 mention 4 further species for the Cordillera de la Costa (Avila), including W. lansbergiana.

Ethnobotanical and general use
About 14 useful species of Weinmannia are known (UPHOF 1968 , SCHULTES & RAFFAUF 1990). Several species have a fine hardwood with a pinkish hue which is used in turnery, for machinery bearings, in coachbulding, for tools, carving, for fuel and construction. The bark is considered to be astringent and the secreted gum is used in Cuba to adulterate quinine ( W. pinnata). In other species, the bark is a source for tanning material or is used to give leather a red colour. The astringent bark is also applied on wounds. The resinous leaves of quite a few species are applied against rheumatic pains. They are also an excellent remedy for painful joints; the leaves are rubbed on the afflicted area to reduce inflammation. The leaves are also boiled in water to clean the teeth and to harden the gums. A tea of the leaves with sugar serves as a stimulant and stops diarrhoea. Crushed fresh leaves are treated with warm water to prepare a poultice for open wounds. These crushed leaves are massaged on swollen and painful joints. A decoction prepared by boilong flowers in water serves as an astringent wash for open wounds and helps to hasten healing. The bark of Weinmannia glabra L . F. is rich in tannins and used for leather tanning; the vernacular name is therefore 'curtidero' (tan-bark). This Venezuelan species grows between 1600 and 2100 m. Its wood is used on a small scale (PITTIER 1970) .

South American medicinal plants : botany, remedial properties, and general use / I. Roth, H. Lindorf. Berlin ; New York : Springer, c2002. -- p. 492.