The adult leaves are arranged alternately on the branchlets and the same glossy green colour on both sides, with petioles that are 7–20 mm (0.28–0.79 in) long.

[6][7] The species was first published in 1876 by Ferdinand von Mueller, based on specimens collected at Queen Victoria Spring by Jess Young during the Giles expedition of May 1875.

[8][9] The specific epithet (salubris) is a Latin word meaning "healthful", "wholesome" or "beneficial",[10] in reference to the healthy appearance of the tree.

E. salubris also belongs to a well known small group, the gimlets, notable for the slender fluted, twisted shiny trunks.

[4] This gimlet has a wide distribution, occurring throughout the Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie biogeographic regions, with outliers as far west as Perth and as far south as Esperance.

The flowers produce nectar for honey production, pollen has value for apiculture or high tannin content in bark.

In Western Australia its preference for rich loamy soils have resulted in large stands of the species being cleared for farmland.