Shrub or tree, 2–10 m high. Bark of trunk and branches fibrous, reddish brown. Branchlets almost terete, grey-brown, densely pubescent or glabrous except in axils. Phyllodes elliptic to narrowly elliptic, subfalcate to dimidiate, (5.5–) 7–16 cm long, 15–40 mm wide (to 20 cm long and 70 mm wide on young plants), thinly coriaceous, silvery-white and densely pubescent when young, later often glabrescent, rarely lightly pruinose; with 5–9 ± prominent longitudinal veins (ventral veins becoming confluent with or near lower margin at base); minor veins 5–10 per mm, sometimes sparingly anastomosing. Inflorescences simple or racemose, racemes 1–75 (–200) mm long; peduncles 1–7 mm long, hairy or scurfy or sometimes glabrous; spikes (1–) 2–3 (–5) per node, 1.5–4 (–5) cm long, lemon yellow to golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals partially united, silky pubescent. Pods linear, submoniliform, terete to subterete, straight or curved, 3–15.5 cm long, 3–4 mm wide, coriaceous, longitudinally striate, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 5–9 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, black; pleurogram indistinct; areole open, depressed.
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A neat small shrub. It grows up to 4-5 m high and has branches which hang down. The shrub has a rounded shape. The bark is slightly rough towards the base of the tree. The branches can be smooth or have short white hairs. The leaves (phyllodes) are broad and curved. They are 8-16 cm long and 2-4.5 cm wide. They are grey-green. They have many veins along the leaf of which 3-5 are more easily seen. The flowers are yellow in spikes. They have a smell. The flower spikes are 2-5 cm long. Often 1-3 spikes grow together in the angles of leaves. The pod is smooth, straight or slightly twisted and nearly round in cross section. They are 10-14 cm long and 0.3-0.4 cm wide. They are brown when ripe with several black seeds. The seeds are oblong and arranged along the pod lengthwise.
An understorey species in open-forest and woodland dominated by eucalypts, also in low open-woodland and in open-scrub, usually in sandy or gravelly soils, often near creeks; at elevations up to 200 metres.
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It is a tropical plant. It normally grows in sandy well drained soils. It grows naturally in open forest and along creek banks.
Grows usually in sandy or gravelly soils, often near watercourses, frequently associated with Eucalyptus tetrodonta.
Details of biology, ecology, utilisation, etc. of A. difficilis are given in J.W. Turnbull (ed.), Multipurpose Australian Trees and Shrubs 130 (1986) and M.W. McDonald, Australian Systematic Botany 16(2): 145–147 (2003).
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The gum is eaten. The seeds are eaten.
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