The grey possumwood is a small to medium-sized tree to 17 metres (56 ft) tall[1] and a stem diameter of 30 centimetres (12 in).

It may be distinguished from the related possumwood (Quintinia sieberi) by the smoother bark and the branchlets being paler.

[3] White, cream or yellow coloured five-petalled flowers form in the upper axils[4] on a single narrow raceme from the months of September to November.

[5] Wind blown seeds often germinate in the form of a hemiepiphyte on the trunks of rocks and tree ferns such as Dicksonia antarctica.

As the roots of the germinating seeds are so small, care needs to be given to provide adequate moisture and protection from being buried or exposed.

[5] Over a hundred years ago, Joseph Maiden suggested it is well suited to gardens on the Australian east coast.

[6] It grows readily in soils with good drainage that retain moisture in sunny or sheltered positions.

[7] The plant was described by Ferdinand Mueller in 1861, from specimens collected by Hermann Beckler at the Manning and Hasting Rivers.