The bark has a rough feel and is grey to black in colour. The tree has a combination of one straight thorn with a small hooked thorn alongside. The thorns are thin and grow in pairs. The flowers form in clusters on old wood. The flowers themselves are creamy, white, balls. The pods are a distinctive pale, gold brown colour and are curled and twisted. The leaves are very small giving the umbrella a soft, feathery appearance.Browsing animals eat the leaves together with the thorns, the latter more easily when young and soft. The older, hardened thorns can be a deterrent to over-browsing. The thorns are sharp and white, with some straight and others hooked. They are arranged singly or in pairs. The tree flowers in December (summer) with dense, packed white florets, but the flowering can be sporadic depending upon rain.It has the classic, umbrella-shaped canopy associated with thorn trees. It reaches heights of between 5-20 m in nature. Many bird species take advantage of this protection and build their nests in the canopy. It is fairly slow growing and reaches a final height of between 3-5 m with a spread of 8-13 m