Erect, often spreading, intricately branched, leafy to almost leafless, spinescent shrub to 3 m high with distal branches moderately to sparingly branched, the ultimate branches mostly modified to leafless to sparingly leafy simple or forked thorns 5–15 mm long. Branches flexuose, sometimes scarcely so, moderately to very densely pubescent with persisting or gradually deciduous, simple glandular and/or non-glandular hairs (these simple or sparingly branched), rarely sparsely pubescent to ±glabrous (subsp. collina). Leaves at first solitary at the nodes, soon replaced by axillary clusters of 3–10 leaves, sessile or almost so; lamina narrowly to broadly elliptic, ovate or obovate, with rounded, bluntly or angularly obtuse, rarely acute, apex, mostly 3–14 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, entire, usually thick and slightly fleshy or leathery, sometimes ±membranaceous, sparsely to densely pubescent mainly with spreading glandular hairs 0.1–0.3 mm long (often decapitated on older leaves) and a few simple and forked non-glandular hairs (subsp. anisantha) or (subsp. collina) mainly with antrorse (sometimes spreading) simple, forked or sparingly branched non-glandular hairs 0.1–0.2 mm long and fewer glandular hairs 0.05–0.075 mm long, rarely with mainly glandular hairs or almost glabrous. Flowers in clusters of 2–6, borne terminally at the leaf clusters at thorn bases, arranged in compact cymes of 1–3, each pedicel subtended by a pair of subopposite bracts which together with empty bracts form a cluster subtending the inflorescence, these often concentrated towards the ends of the branches; bracts 0.5–2.0 mm long; pedicels 2–6 mm long. Calyx 2–4.5 mm long. Corolla 7–20 mm long, white to pale yellow or greenish yellow, the striations purple-brown or maroon; tube rim with a corona (sometimes vestigial or discontinuous), formed from up to 4 swellings below each lobe; lobes linear to narrowly ovate, 5–15 mm long, 1.0–3.8 mm wide, spreading to reclining, with margins flat to slightly incurved or recurved. Stamens: longer pair 3.5–4.5 mm long, shorter pair 2.5–3.5 mm long. Capsule ovoid to ovoid-ellipsoid, acute, acuminate or apiculate, 4.5–9 mm long. Seeds 8–25 in all, 1.3–2 mm long.
Generally found at rocky sites, sometimes following disturbance, often in arid ranges or at rock outcrops of igneous origin, with slightly acidic, sandy loam to clay loam soils. Associated vegetation is generally shrubland dominated by Acacia, Melaleuca or Eucalyptus species, often in combination and at times with Triodia-dominated tussock grassland.
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