Pedleya acanthoclada is a small shrub about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high with stiff, smooth branches bearing thorns.

[2][3] Pedleya acanthoclada was first formally described in 1861 by Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave it the name Desmodium acanthocladum in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae, from specimens collected near the Clarence River by Hermann Beckler.

[8] Thorny pea is found growing mostly near rivers in the Lismore and Grafton regions of New South Wales.

[2] This species of pea (as Desmodium acanthocladum) is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

The main threats to the species include habitat fragmentation, damage cause by roadworks, trampling by livestock and weed infestation.