Pladaroxylon leucadendron is a small tree, growing to a maximum of 5 meters in height, with relatively large and cabbage like leaves.

[6] In English the species is commonly known as the "he cabbage-tree",[10] though in 1775 the trees were called the "greater-cabbage-tree" by the inhabitants of the island.

[2] The he cabbage-tree is a short lived tree that grows quickly to take advantage of openings in the forest canopy.

Due to competition from introduced plants such as bilberry, red cinchona, and New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) it depends on human intervention to make spaces for it to survive.

[13][6] Formerly it formed a part of the native forest and grew at lower elevations than the other species called cabbage trees on the island.