It is an erect, sparsely-branched shrub with flattened branches ending in winged cladodes, scale leaves, and yellow and red flowers.

Bossiaea scolopendria is an erect, sparsely-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) or more.

Flowering mainly occurs from August to September and the fruit is an oblong pod 30–45 mm (1.2–1.8 in) long.

[8][9] In 1808, James Edward Smith changed the name to Bossiaea scolopendria in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.

[10][11] Bossiaea scolopendria grows in heathland and forest on sandstone in near-coastal areas of New South Wales between Jervis Bay and Somersby, but is more common north of Sydney.