Tree 3–6 m high, shrubby, with weeping habit. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes broadly linear to very narrowly elliptic, ± falcate, 13–34 cm long, 6–20 mm wide, acuminate to caudate-acuminate, coriaceous, glabrous or ± appressed-puberulous (especially when young), with 1–5 distant main veins; minor veins obscure, numerous, and normally longitudinally anastomosing. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 2–22 mm long, glabrous; spikes 3–6 cm long, ± 1 cm diam., interrupted, cream. Flowers 5-merous, large (3 mm long); sepals united; calyx ± truncate. Pods narrowly oblong, biconvex, to 15 cm long and 2 cm wide, woody, finely longitudinally wrinkled, ± shiny, yellowish brown, glabrous. Seeds transverse, broadly elliptic, 5–9 mm long, dull, brown, not obviously arillate.
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A small weeping shrub. It grows 3-4 m tall. The branches are angular. The leaves (phyllodes) are 5-30 cm long and 5-8 cm wide. They can be straight or curved. They are leathery and with 3 prominent veins. The flower heads are like rods and 3-6 cm long. They are yellow. They occur either singly or in pairs in the angles of leaves on the upper parts of branches. The pods are 3-6 cm long by 1-1.2 cm wide. They are a zigzag form. They are woody and pale yellow.
Useful as a fodder and has potential as an ornamental in arid areas but the latter use is limited by the foetid, 'gidgee'-like odour of the vegetative parts and the flowers, similar to that of A. cambagei and A. georginae. Details of utilisation of A. pachycarpa are given in J.W. Turnbull (ed.), Multipurpose Australian Trees and Shrubs 178–179 (1986) and J.C. Doran et al., in J.C. Doran & J.W. Turnbull (eds), Australian Trees and Shrubs: Species for Land Rehabilitation and Farm Planting in the Tropics 198–199 (1997).
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