It is more or less covered with silvery or rust-coloured scales and has narrow wedge-shaped leaves with a notched tip, and umbels of white to cream-coloured, five-petalled flowers.

[2][3][4][5] Phebalium daviesii was first formally described in 1859 by Joseph Dalton Hooker and the description was published in The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M.

[5][3] This phebalium is listed as "critically endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and a recovery plan has been prepared.

The main threats to the species are its small population size, damage caused by flooding and susceptibility to Phytophthora cinnamomi fungus.

[2] In 2001, each Australian state nominated a native flower as a floral emblem to celebrate the centenary of the Federation of Australia.