[6] The tree is dioecious (that is, with separate male and female plants) and has yellowish-green flowers which appear between January and March.

[7][8] The basionym of this species is Icica timoriensis, and was originally described in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1825.

[9] A number of other botanists, notably Daniel Solander, Ferdinand von Mueller and George Bentham, have also described specimens of this species under different names, all of which are now heterotypic synonyms of Pleiogynium timoriense[4] The genus name Pleiogynium derives from the Ancient Greek pleíōn meaning "more", and gunḗ meaning "female".

[4] It grows in rainforest and monsoon forest at elevations from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and is often found along water courses.

[7][5][8][11] Joseph Banks, on his voyage to Australia with Captain James Cook, collected some of the fruits when they stopped in the Endeavour River, and he made the note: "These when gathered off from the tree were very hard and disagreeable but after being kept for a few days became soft and tasted much like indifferent Damsons".