A vigorous climber with finely divided pale green foliage, tangled stems and creamy coloured flowers in winter. Male and female flowers are produced on seperate plants (this is called 'dioeceious' in botanical lingo, meaning 'two houses').

In the Victorian Volcanic Plains this species often grows as a bushy, small tree in exposed, windy areas but it grows much taller along creeklines. In mountainous areas, it may grow to be a tall forest tree. The dull green phyllodes; flattened leaf-like stems which replace the true leaves as the main photosynthetic structure, are short and may be covered with mealy scales.