Thorny shrub or small tree; branchlets slender, often zig-zag marked with grey or pale brown dots; stipular spines in pairs, straight, 2-3 cm long; leaf rachis slightly pubescent with minute petiolar gland; pinnae 4-7 pairs; pinnules 10-20 pairs, elliptic-oblong, overlapping, subglabrous, rigidly coriaceous, entire, obtuse, nerves prominent below; flowers in globose heads, up to 2 cm across; creamy white, fragrant; peduncle pubescent, crowded at nodes of full grown leaves; bracts whorled at or near apex; calyx campanulate, teeth-5, minute; petals 5, lobes very short, obtuse; stamens many, free, much exserted, filaments free, anthers small, basally connate; ovary stipitate, style filiform, slender; pods 5-8 cm long, subcylindric, obtuse, dehiscent, slightly curved, glabrous, turgid, brown; seeds many in two rows or biserriate, dark brown.