Acacia paradoxa is a plant in the Fabaceae family. Its common names include kangaroo thorn, prickly wattle, hedge wattle and paradox acacia. This is a large shrub up to 3 metres tall and wide. It is dense with foliage; the leaves are actually enlarged petioles known as phyllodes. They are crinkly and the new ones are covered in hairs. The bush is also full of long spines. It flowers in small, bright yellow spherical flower heads and the fruits are brown pods 4 to 7 cm long. The spiny stipules that grow at the base of the phyllodes deter livestock from feeding on or too close to the plant.