It is a small shrub with narrow leaves and purple pea flowers.

The stems and branches are thickly covered with soft, loosely flattened hairs.

The leaves are narrow-elliptic shaped, mostly 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) long and 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) wide, with a depressed midrib, the margins curved downward.

Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is a pod about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and densely covered with rusty-coloured hairs.

[7] Alpine rusty-pods is mostly found in open heath, woodlands and grassy situations at higher altitudes in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.