The prickly and intricate shrub typically grows to a maximum height of 3 m (9.8 ft) and a width of around 2 mm (0.079 in).

It has persistent sharp and rigid stipules along the branchlets that are slightly curved that are 1 to 2 mm (0.039 to 0.079 in) in length and shining brown in colour.

The firmly chartaceous pods are very curved or coiled and have a length of up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) and a width of around 2.5 mm (0.098 in) and have many longitudinal veins.

[3] The species was first formally described by George Bentham and Ferdinand von Mueller in 1855 as part of the work Plantae Muellerianae: Mimoseae as published by in Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde.

[3] In South Australia it is found in a limited area on the Eyre Peninsula and in the Murray region where it is usually a part of open scrub-land communities and is often associated with Eucalyptus socialis and Eucalyptus gracilis and is found growing in grey-brown calcareous loamy and hard alkaline red duplex soils.