The features of this species that distinguish it from others in the Myrtaceae are the red flowers, persistent sepals and deciduous fruit.

[2][3][4] The species was first formally described in 1836 by Johann Klotzsch, who gave it the name Pentagonaster baxteri and published the description in Allgemeine Gartenzeitung.

[1] The specific epithet (baxteri) honours William Baxter, an English gardener who collected seeds and plants for British nurserymen.

[4][7] Kunzea baxteri grows in coarse sandy soil or laterite, often near granite outcrops in heath, scrub or woodland.

[2][3][9] Kunzea baxteri is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.