Acacia elachantha M.W.Mcdonald & Maslin

Spindly shrub 2–3 m tall, rarely a tree 5–6 (–8) m tall; crown sparsely foliaged. Branchlets angled at extremities becoming terete with age, glabrous or minutely sericeous. New shoots glabrous or sericeous with yellow or silver hairs. Phyllodes shallowly to strongly falcate, 8–19.5 cm long, 7–22 mm wide, coriaceous, either glabrous and lightly pruinose or minutely sericeous; longitudinal nerves numerous, 2–4 per mm, with normally 3 more prominent than the rest and the lowermost 2 running together at base of phyllode; minor nerves occasionally anastomosing. Inflorescences 1 or 2 per axil, simple or vestigial binate racemes with axes to 1 mm long; peduncles 3–12 mm long, hairy or glabrous; spikes 1.5–3.3 cm long, light golden; bracteoles spathulate, 0.5 mm long. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united; ovary hairy or glabrous. Pods linear, straight to shallowly curved, 3–3.5 mm wide, chartaceous to coriaceous, glabrous to very sparsely minutely hairy. Seeds longitudinal, ±oblong, 3.5–4 mm long, glossy, dark brown to black; aril yellow.

Tall shrubland, tall open-shrubland, or low open-woodland with eucalypts, often forming dense populations along roadsides; at elevations up to 650 metres.

Acacia elachantha is a fast growing, short-lived species that produces prolific quantities of seed. It has been introduced into parts of west Africa (as A. cowleana) since the early 1980s for fuelwood, soil rehabilitation and more recently for the use of its seeds as an alternative food.

Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.