"[4] Matagouri is a tangle-branched, extremely spiny, divaricating shrub; sometimes it can grow to be a small tree up to five metres tall with rough grey bark.

[5][7] It commonly forms thickets in lowland to montane tussock grassland, stony areas, sand dunes, and river beds, and occasionally in subalpine scrubland.

[4] As with other Discaria species, matagouri fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of symbiotic bacteria of the genus Frankia in its roots, and so can grow in nutrient-poor habitats.

[5] It often grows in association with mingimingi (Coprosma propinqua), porcupine shrub (Melicytus alpinus, an alpine mahoe), native brooms (Carmichaelia species) and the introduced weed sweet briar (Rosa rubiginosa).

[5] Although it can resprout after fire, sheep and rabbits combined with regular tussock burning has significantly reduced the once-extensive forests of matagouri that once stood 6 m high.

[11] Prior to their removal the Council collected cuttings and seeds to assist with the efforts of regenerating this species and to help increase the genetic diversity of the surviving relic populations.