Dioecious or polygamodioecious, spreading or erect shrub, or tree to c. 5 m; branchlets angled to flattened, usually slightly ribbed, puberulent to glabrous. Leaves simple, sessile or petiolate, linear to obovate or spathulate, rarely cuneate to angular-obovate, 1–15.5 cm long, 1–25 mm wide, obtuse to acuminate, sometimes rounded and mucronate, rarely emarginate or 3-toothed, entire to irregularly sinuate or minutely dentate, glabrous, viscid; petiole to 18 mm long. Flowers in terminal panicles; pedicels 3–9 mm long; sepals 3–4, lanceolate to ovate, 1.3–3 mm long, viscid, caducous; stamens 6–10, usually 8, usually longer than the sepals; ovary glabrous to pubescent. Capsule 3–4-winged, broadly elliptic to transversely elliptic in outline, 8.5–22(–28) mm long, 11–22(–28) mm wide, glabrous, wings 2–6(–10) mm wide, membranous or sometimes coriaceous; seed lenticular, 2–3.1 mm long, black, dull, exarillate. Flowers mostly spring and summer.
LoM, MuM, Wim, GleP, Brid, VVP, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGL, EGU, HSF, HNF, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. The most widespread species of the genus and found almost throughout Victoria (rare in Eastern Highlands and Snowfields). It occurs through a range of plant communities but mainly open-forests, woodlands and mallee scrub.
7 subspecies, 4 occurring in Victoria. Generally, these subspecies are readily distinguishable but many intermediates exist where two or more subspecies are sympatric, e.g. western and eastern Victoria. Owing to difficulty of assignation of old records of D. viscosa, and the numerous specimens of unclear subspecific affinity, general distribution information only is available for the subspecies. Hybrids of D. viscosa and D. boroniifolia occur in areas of overlapping distribution.
A horticultural form, D. viscosa 'Purpurea', originating from the South Island of New Zealand, is an occasional garden-escape, e.g. on the Mornington Peninsula. It is readily recognizable by large leaves (to 12 cm long and 2.5 cm wide) with a purple abaxial surface.
