Tree 5–10 m tall, not suckering. Bark smooth, grey. Branchlets prominently flattened and angular, often lightly pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes variable, uncrowded on stems (10–20 mm apart), straight to shallowly recurved, narrowly oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, 10–15 cm long, 15–25 (–35) mm wide, (linear, 10–20 cm long and 4–10 mm wide on juvenile plants), grey-green to glaucous, often lightly pruinose, glabrous, 1-nerved per face, obscurely penninerved; gland normally single (rarely 2–4), 0–16 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 2–4 (–5) cm long; peduncles (3–) 4–5 (–7) mm long, glabrous; heads globular, (18–) 30–50 (–54)-flowered, golden to pale yellow. Flowers 5‑merous; sepals united; ovary glabrous. Pods linear, to 16 cm long, 5–7 (–8) mm wide, firmly chartaceous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to oblong-elliptic, 4–6 mm long, dark brown to black; funicle ¾ or more encircling seed, red-brown to blackish; aril clavate.
Sold in Australian nurseries as a quick growing, long flowering small tree with edible seed. It has been used in revegetation projects, however see O'Leary (2007: 107) for discussion on issues relating to its utilisation and being confused with A. retinodes and A. uncifolia. Although sold as Acacia retinodes, A. provincialis has been an important component of the cut flower industry in Europe for more than one hundred years, and today is sold in numerous nurseries around the world as a cut flower and potted plant. Information on the utilisation potential of this species is given in B.R. Maslin and M.W. McDonald, AcaciaSearch: Evaluation of Acacia as a woody crop option for southern Australia, RIRDC Publication No. 30/017: 176–180 (2004).
Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.
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