[4][5] Eucalyptus exserta was first formally described in 1859 by the Victorian state botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany.

[5] The species is found on stony rises and hills throughout much of central, southern and eastern[3] Queensland,[2] from around Charleville area east to the coast and then extending north to Mareeba.

[5] E. exserta grows in infertile sandy soils as part of dry sclerophyll woodland communities.

It can be grown as a shade or windbreak tree on farms in areas where it is native, growing best on soils with good drainage.

[9] E. exserta plantations were established in Guangdong Province in China to halt soil erosion in the early 1960s.