Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia is encountered as a tree to 10 m (33 ft) in height, with a maximum trunk diameter of 20 cm (8 in).

New growth is covered with fine rusty hair, as are the inflorescences that emerge in winter and spring (August to October).

[6] Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia was first described by German-Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1883 from a collection near the Tweed River in northern New South Wales.

[1][2] Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia is found in (and on the margins of) subtropical rain forest from Tamborine Mountain in the southeastern corner of Queensland to the Nambucca Valley in on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Alexander Floyd recommends adding original leaf litter from beneath the parent tree to promote beneficial anti-fungal micro-organisms.