It has rough, tessellated to fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, a crown of juvenile heart-shaped to lance-shaped, stem-clasping leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven, white flowers and urn-shaped to shortened spherical fruit.

Corymbia zygophylla is a small tree or a mallee that typically grows to a height of 6–9 m (20–30 ft) and forms a lignotuber.

It has rough, tessellated to fibrous, pale to dark brown bark on the trunk and branches.

[5][7] Corymbia zygophylla grows in shallow, red sandy soils on dunes and sandplains.

It is mainly found in the southern Kimberley region but there are scattered populations in the Pilbara and Great Sandy Desert in the Carnarvon, Central Kimberley, Dampierland, Great Sandy Desert, Ord Victoria Plain and Pilbara biogeographic regions.