It is most often utilized as shade for livestock and as a source of dry-season fodder. Growing well on alluvial or infertile soils, A. leucophloea also has great potential as a reforestation species for degraded sites. Currently, it is not commonly planted for this purpose. It may be deciduous. Mature trees become less thorny and can live to be 100 years old.
Trunks are stout, dividing into several large diameter branches.
Generally, the bark is white to yellowish gray, smooth and exfoliates in long strips. In harsh environments and on poor soils this species remains a shrub or small malformed tree. The feathery green foliage offers a strong contrast to the light-colored bark. Leaves are bipinnately compound having 5-30 pairs of leaflets. Spines, 2-5 mm long, occur at the base of leaves.