It is native to an area of the Pilbara region of Western Australia from around Newman and Karratha. It grows in loam or on rocky ground and is found on plains, low rises and ironstone hills. There are a few isolated occurrences to the south in the Gascoyne region within the catchment of the Ashburton River. In the Pilbara the bulk of the population is situated between the central parts of the Hamersley Range in the east extending west to the North West Coastal Highway east of Onslow. It is often part of spinifex plain communities and open shrubland often with Acacia ancistrocarpa and Acacia bivenosa. It often forms dense, pure stands usually in disturbed areas including verges and burnt out areas having regenerated swiftly from seed.