Small tree up to 3.5 m tall, trunk slender. Branches fastigiate, ascending, striate, blackish brown: new growth conspicuously striate, ferruginous. Stipules in pairs, spinescent, 30-50 mm long, white, glabrous attenuate, pungent, antrorse, basally thickened. Bark coarsely flaking or splitting to reveal a reddish brown inner layer on young shoots. Leaves dull green, glabrous, bipinnately compound, pulvinus yellow at maturity: petiole sulcate. 0.5-20.0 mm long: primary leaves with large, raised, crateriform. petiolar nectary gland, often absent in secondary leaves: rachis sulcate,0-20 mm long, terminating in a short, rigid, persistent, deflexed hook or claw, at least one nectary gland at junction of distal pinna pair: rachillae 1 pair on secondary leaves. 2 to 3 pairs on primary leaves, distichous. 30-6 long, midrib raised, dotted with small raised glandular structures between each leaflet pair, terminating in a short, rigid, persistent, deflexed hook or claw: leaflets distichous.5-9 pairs per rachillae, oblong to obovate-oblong. 8-18 x 3-9 mm. entire, eglandular, apex mucronulate. Terminal pairs largest, asymmetrical, base oblique, midrib and usually several other basal and lateral veins ± raised and conspicuous on abaxial surface only. Inflorescences capitate, globose, bright yellow. 6-16 mm diam., borne on new growth, fascicled on axillary peduncles; peduncle 24-4 long, glabrous below involucel. or with few random, small yellow glands above involucel. glutinous when young, often with shards of villose hairs: involucel bracteate. 1.0-2.2 mm long, halfway to two thirds up the peduncle, dotted with small red glands, androgenous florets always present between bracts. Flowers bright yellow, dichlamydeous. Bracteole spatulate, glandular, apices with sparse villose hairs. Calyx campanulate, pentamerous, glabrous. 2.0-2.5 mm long, ascending, apices weakly pubescent, clasping corolla. Corolla campanulate, pentamerous, membranaceous: lobes ± united, free above calyx, ligulate. 2.5-3.2 mm long, ascending, edges and apex papillate. Stamens numerous: filaments 6.0-7.5 mm long. Ovary slightly stipitate, ventricose, septate, 2-3 mm long, surface with a few pusticulate waxy globules: style 2-3 mm long. Pods dehiscent, falcate, complanate, valves venous. 40-115 x 6-11 mm. 4-10-seeded, sparsely covered with a few non-pustular glands, margins not constricted between seeds at maturity. Seeds elliptic. 6-11 x 4-6mm. areole elliptic. 4-6 x 2-4 mm.
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