Erect or spreading shrub to 4 m tall, resinous. Phyllodes stiff, straight or slightly curved, 5-12 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, more or less cylindrical, tip needle-pointed, a gland at the base. Flower clusters 1-4 together. Flower heads spherical, of 20-30 flowers, golden yellow; winter and spring. Fruit pods 5-10 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, curved or coiled.

A. coriacea DC.,Wirewood (Desert Oak), from WA, SA, Qld, NSWand the NT has phyllodes 15-35 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, cylindrical or flat, and seed pods 15-22 cm long; A. gracilifolia Maiden and Blakely from SA has cylindrical phyllodes 5-10 cm long, 1 mm wide, straight or curved, with a lumpy gland along the upper margin, branches and phyllodes resinous and sticky; A. merinthophora E. Pritzel from WA has extremely long, narrow, wispy, pendulous cylindrical phyllodes to 30 cm long, 1 mm wide, with a curved point; A. perangusta (C.T. White) Pedley from Qld has flower heads of up to 12 flowers and phyllodes 3-7 cm long, to 1.5 mm broad, with a prominent gland about 1 cm from the base.

SA, Qld, NSW, Vic.

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Mimosaceae. 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.