The leaves, which are arranged on spaced whorls around the stem, have a distinctive curry-like smell.

[5] The stems are covered with fine downy hairs and have 1 to 1.5 mm (0.039 to 0.059 in) long stipules.

The phyllodes are arranged in whorls of 8 to 14 and are more or less flattened and straight or recurved towards apex.

[1] The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1874 as part of the work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.

[2] The species is naturally found growing in stony and sandy soils, and has been brought into cultivation for arid area gardening.