A. muricata is being used in traditional medicine in tropical regions. It is used to treat many diseases including fever, pain, respiratory and skin illness, internal and external parasites, bacterial infections, hypertension, inflammation, diabetes and cancer.

Trees grow to a height of about 10 m with pale brown bark and glabrescent young twigs. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous, estipulate with entire margin. Petiole 4-8 mm long, slender, glabrous, grooved above; elliptic, oblong, obovate, oblong-obovate, elliptic-oblong or elliptic-obovate lamina. Leaf base acute, apex acute to acuminate, coriaceous having 8-10 pairs of lateral veins. Flowers solitary, axillary or from mature branches and is yellowish-green. Triangular and persistent Sepals (3); petals 6(3+3) ovate-acute, yellow, thick, glabrous, base cordate, apex acuminate, shortly stipitate; stamens many, 4-5 mm long, linear, filaments broad at base, with capitate top of the connective; ovary superior, linear, slightly curved, strigose, style broad at base, stigma entire. Fruit ovoid to obovoid, green, covered with curved spines having numerous reddish-brown seeds.