Flowering mainly occurs between August and September and is followed by fruit which are dry, woody, oval-shaped and 6.5–8 mm (0.26–0.31 in) long with a papery covering.

[2][3] The species was first formally described by Robert Chinnock in 2007 and the description was published in Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae.

[4] The specific epithet (tenella) is a Latin word meaning "soft" or "delicate",[5] referring to the slender, flexible branches.

[2] This eremophila is common in the Paterson Range near Christmas Pool, emerging above grassland on stony hillsides, 20 km (10 mi) south-west of Telfer in the Little Sandy Desert biogeographic region.

[6] Eremophila tenella is classified as "Priority One" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife,[6] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.