It has pinnate leaves with between six and ten leaflets, panicles of white or cream-coloured flowers and smooth fruit that opens in five sections to release winged seeds.

[2][3] Flindersia brayleyana was first formally described in 1866 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected near the Herbert River by John Dallachy.

[5] Queensland maple grows in rainforest at altitudes between 30 and 1,100 m (98 and 3,609 ft) between the Daintree River and Rockingham Bay.

[6] Queensland maple produces a good quality, decorative cabinet timber and has been used in the manufacture of propellers and plywood in Mosquito bomber aircraft and in acoustic guitars.

However most specimens are protected in World Heritage areas, the timber is now in very short supply, and attempts to grow the tree in plantations have failed.