The inflorescence resembles those of some of the only distantly-related darwinia "bells" and the bracts are a combination of red, purple, green and cream-coloured.

Pimelea physodes is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.2–1 m (7.9 in – 3 ft 3.4 in) and has a single stem at ground level.

[2][3][4][5] Pimelea physodes was first formally described in 1852 by William Jackson Hooker in his book Icones Plantarum, from material collected by James Drummond.

[8] Qualup bell grows on sandplains and hillsides in the near-coastal region between the Pallarup Nature Reserve, Fitzgerald River National Park, Jarramungup and Mount Desmond near Ravensthorpe.

[2][3][4] Gregory John Keighery has recorded the tawny-crowned honeyeater (Gliciphila meanops) as a probable pollinator of the Qualup bell.