Younger women have a higher chance of having a benign phyllodes tumor. The specific epithet refers to the long phyllodes on this species. It has blue-grey phyllodes and yellow flowers. The wings of these phyllodes are usually wide and long. The leaves are bipinnate or are modified to vertically oriented phyllodes. The species name relates to the knife-shaped phyllodes. The common treatment for phyllodes is wide local excision. Like most wattles it has phyllodes rather than leaves. These are known as "phyllodes". True leaves are entirely replaced by long, wide phyllodes on an adult tree. The phyllodes have numerous parallel longitudinal nerves. The phyllodes are in length and wide. Its phyllodes provide a good, long-lasting mulch. Some would extend the spectrum to include malignant phyllodes tumors and frank sarcoma. Like most species of "Acacia" it has phyllodes rather than true leaves.