Spreading shrub to 2 m tall. Leaves and leaflets relatively small, leaflets rarely more than 3 cm wide. Sepals shallowly 5-toothed. Flowers red, tipped greenish yellow; standard about 5-6.5 cm long, 3 cm wide; keel about 1.5 cm long; spring to early summer. Fruit pods constricted between seeds, extremely prickly.

Well adapted to dry areas and naturalised for example in the Murray region of SA, where it forms dense thickets.

S Africa (Cape Province).

Flowers yellow-tipped, appearing before the leaves; fruits extremely prickly.

VIC: Melbourne (Royal Bot. Gds, S African Bed, a specimen dating from 1896).

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Fabaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.