In native Australian habitats, Acacia cyclops grows as a dense, evergreen bushy shrub (often with multiple stems), or small tree 9 to 24 feet tall, with a rounded leaf canopy. The canopy is made up of light green, narrow leaves (phyllodes), that have a varnished or shiny appearance when young, and grow in a slightly down turned fashion. In spring, yellow, round, ball-shaped flowers appear. Pods, mature in summer, but are not all shed leaving seeds available to attract wildlife and birds. A. cyclops takes its name from its large black seed that is surrounded by a bright red tissue called an aril. The seed and aril together look like a single, bloodshot eye, hence the name Cyclops. Native to southwestern Australia, it grows mostly on coastal sand dunes. In native settings it grows relatively slowly. The trunks are a reddish brown with intricate branches, often growing with multiple trunks.

Western Coastal Wattle can grow in dry areas with annual precipitation less than 1 ½ inches and elevations below 1000 feet. It tolerates salt spray, wind, sandblast, and salinity and grows best in porous soils and full sun. It will not tolerate deep shade. It is described as "slightly frost resistant," regularly surviving temperatures in the low 20's in native settings.

Besides its use as a landscape tree or barrier planting, this species has also been used to stabilize coastal dunes in Australia and for the production of high quality firewood at maturity. The seeds contain oils making them an ideal food for birds and other wildlife and, when crushed, used as cattle feed.