Open to subdense shrub usually 1–2.5 m tall, to 2.5 m wide, glabrous. Branchlets commonly dark red-brown, often lightly pruinose. Phyllodes subdistant, ascending to erect, narrowly linear, straight, 3–8 (–9) cm long, 1–4 (–5) mm wide, rounded-obtuse, with minute and ±central mucro, ±thick, finely wrinkled when dry, subglaucous to dark green; midrib not prominent; glands 2 or 3, with lowermost 3–14 mm above pulvinus, and distal glands smaller with one at base of mucro. Inflorescences 2-or 3-headed racemes; raceme axes 1–7 (–9) mm long; basal bracts caducous but bract scars persistent; peduncles 2–6 mm long; heads globular, subdense, 16–22-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united into a ±truncate calyx. Pods ±erect, ±submoniliform, to 7 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, crustaceous, breaking readily at constrictions, commonly dark brown. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 3–5 mm long, dull, light brown; aril orange to scarlet.