 The shrub grows to 5 metres in height and has leaves 7.5 to 10 centimetres long which are shiny, noticeably veined, dark green in colour and have a spinous margin.The flowers are red and in short clusters, each about 2 to 2.5 centimetres in length.The species was originally collected from Mount Blackwood, north of Mackay, in the 1800s and was part of a collection by Nernst which is now at the Melbourne Herbarium.