It is a fairly untidy, many-stemmed shrub up to 3-5m in height, often scrambling. It may on occasion form a small tree with a stem diameter of up to 20-30cm in diameter. The bark is greyish, sometimes with a brownish tinge, and is fissured longitudinally, often with coarse flaking. Young stems are fairly smooth with longitudinal striations on which numerous unpaired, hooked prickles up to 8mm are borne. Small prickles are also found on the underside of the leaf axis.The large, fairly droopy, compound leaves are comprised of many tiny leaflets. The foliage is generally dark green and fairly dense, with the new growth often purple-tinged. The leaf stalk is hairy and bears a distinctive stalked gland.

The conspicuous creamy-yellow flowers are borne in clusters of caterpillar-like spikes at the ends of the branches. They are scented and make an attractive show anytime from mid summer to early autumn (January-April).

The deep red to purple-red pods are flat, semi-translucent, up to 85mm in length, tapering sharply at both ends. They are at their most attractive from April to July and dehiscent (splitting to release the seeds) from June to October. The pods contain usually 6-8 seeds which are olive-green to brown and flattened.