A shrub or small spreading tree, but most frequently a robust scrambler with hooked thorns scattered along the branches. The compound leaves have bright green leaflets.
The white or pale cream balls of flowers are borne from December to February which are followed by brownish, leathery, oblong pods with conspicuous smooth domes over the seeds, like the rungs of a ladder.
The River climbing thorn tree is a host plant to the Club-tailed emperor butterfly (Charaxes zoolina) as it's larvae eat the leaves.
Size: up to 12m