The subleaflets are dark glossy green, elliptic to orbicular and slightly asymmetric, measuring up to 20 by 11 cm (7.9 by 4.3 in), and have very short petioles.

[6][7] This species was first described in April 1865 by the German born Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who published a description in his tome Fragmenta phytographiæ Australiæ.

[8]: 60 The taxon was reviewed twice more — first by Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze in 1891, giving it the combination Affonsea vailantii, and then by Alfred James Ewart in 1907 who described a subspecies Albizia vaillantii var.

[8]: 10 The salmon bean is restricted to the coastal area from about Rossville south to the Paluma Range National Park.

The justification for this assessment published by IUCN cites the reduction of the species' natural habitat, and the existence of the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi within its range.